MOSCOW: Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean has met his Russian
counterpart Sergei Ivanov in Moscow.
This is the first official visit to the Russian capital by a
Singapore Defence Minister.
The two ministers discussed areas of co-operation and shared views
on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
Singapore has also invited Russian defence specialists to visit the
Republic.
Mr Teo was given a warm welcome in Moscow.
Firstly, by the Guard of Honour at Victory Park and soon after, by
the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov.
The two Ministers seemed satisfied with their talks, which went on
for over an hour and focused on issues of military exchanges and
training, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, nuclear
non-proliferation and regional security.
Mr Ivanov said: "Despite the long distance between Russia and
Singapore, we share a similar position on the main foreign policy
issues. Both our countries face threats such as terrorism,
religious extremism, and proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction."
On his part, Minister Teo noted that trade and cultural relations
between Russia and Singapore are becoming increasingly
strong.
He added that the two sides agreed to start discussions on defence
policy areas.
In response to a query on possible arms purchases, Mr Teo said: "We
did discuss this issue. I spoke with the Minister as well as the
head of Mil-tech agency in Russia and invited them to send their
experts to Singapore so that we can understand better the full
capability that the Russian defence industry has, and also, the
possible export, and the defence industry can better understand the
equipment priorities of Singapore."
Currently, Russia does not have a well-established military
relationship with Singapore.
Even though no official agreements were signed, experts say Mr
Teo's visit is significant as it lays a very important groundwork
for developing future cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Teo said: "Russia is a major country in the world. It will be
useful for us to understand Russia's world view, how Russia sees
Asia, how Russia sees Southeast Asia and also, it will be useful
for us to put our views across to Russia. In this way, there are
more opportunities for us to work together to contribute to a safe
and secure world which we can pursue for the development and
progress of the people."
The Defence Minister's first official visit to Russia will not only
be limited to Moscow.
Before returning to Singapore, Mr Teo will also get to enjoy the
beauty of St Petersburg, also known as the Russian cultural
capital. - CNA/ir/ls
exactly what weapon is singapore looking at from russia? S-300??
