TURKEY SENDS DELEGATION TO RUSSIA FOR ATTACK HELICOPTERS
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
09.06.2009 01:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey, whose earlier request to buy US Cobra attack
helicopters has so far been turned down on grounds that they are not
available, is sending a military-led delegation to Russia today to
further talks over the planned acquisition of at least 12 Mil Mi-28
"Havoc" attack helicopters as a stop gap measure in the fight against
the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), turkishny.com reports.
Since the possibility of the US supplying Turkey with Cobra helicopters
is now low, Turkey has sped up efforts to buy the advanced Russian
Mi-28 helicopters that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has been keen
on buying.
A Turkish military delegation’s planned visit to Moscow, expected
to start today, comes in the midst of calls made by Turkish Chief of
General Staff Gen. Ýlker Baþbuð in Washington for the US administration
to sell urgently required military hardware to Turkey, including
attack helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
During the visit to Russia, a Turkish military-led delegation will
learn the price and quick delivery options of the Mi-28 helicopters,
the Turkish sources said. Turkey is believed to have five or six
operational Cobras in its inventory. Attack helicopters are one of
the key players in the fight against the PKK. Turkey entered talks
with Russia’s Rosoboronexport late last year for the purchase of 12
Mi-28 attack helicopters.