On the Syrian-Russian military cooperation

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that Syrian debts to Russia will be discussed on the level of ministries concerned. Concerning the Russian - Syrian military cooperation Ivanov said in a statement that President al-Assad was to meet with Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev. Experts at the Russian Inter-Fax news agency said that Syria intends to modernize its army and rearm it, thanks to new contracts with Russia that could reach a cost of US $2 billion over a five-year period.