Wednesday, June 03, 2009

DTN News: Russia Sending 50 Armored Vehicles To Palestinians

DTN News: Russia Sending 50 Armored Vehicles To Palestinians
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - June 3, 2009: Russia has offered the Palestinian Authority 50 armored troop transport vehicles, set to be delivered in the next three months, a senior Russian Army officer told the Interfax news agency June 2. The BTR-80 8x8 armoured personnel carrier, manufactured by the Arzamas machinery Construction Plant of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, is intended to carry personnel on the battlefield and provide close fire support. It can also carry out reconnaissance, combat support and patrol missions. It entered service with the Russian Army in the late 1980s and has since been used in a number of military conflicts, including UN peacekeeping operations. The vehicle is in production and the Russian Army ordered 100 in 2006. The vehicle is also in service with the Ukraine and has been sold to Hungary, Turkey, Macedonia and Bangladesh. "The delivery of the armored troop transport vehicles has been negotiated with all the countries involved. They will be delivered by sea from July to September," said the officer, who declined to be named. The 50 armored vehicles, which are being provided by the Russian Defence Ministry, are ready to be dispatched, he added. The announcement came on the day Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was visiting Moscow, where he was received by the Russian leadership. In late May the Israeli ambassador to Russia, Anna Azari, told Interfax that the Jewish state had agreed to the delivery of armored vehicles to the Palestinian Authority, which controls parts of the West Bank.

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