Russian Armed Forces won't switch to full contract recruitment - General Staff
MOSCOW. Dec 13 (Interfax) - The Russian Armed Forces will not switch to full contract recruitment, General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov said.
"I'd like to note that Russia has never set the goal of shifting its entire army to the contract principles," he told foreign military diplomats on Friday.
"Military service has been regarded as a point of honor and an honorable duty of every Russian citizen in every period of time. We do not think we should abandon this principle," Gerasimov stressed.
"Besides, the mixed principle of the Armed Forces' recruitment makes it possible to prepare mobilization reserves," he said.
The Defense Ministry has made a profound analysis as to which positions in the Armed Forces should be taken by contract servicemen and which positions should be taken by conscripts, he said. "It appeared that our forces would need 499,200 contract servicemen by 2020," he indicated.
