NAYPYIDAW (Myanmar). Jan 22 (Interfax) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's visit to Myanmar has given a fresh impetus to the bilateral military-technical cooperation, Myanmar is actively buying Russian weapons and military hardware, and an agreement on buying Sukhoi Su-30 fighters has been reached, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Alexander Fomin told reporters on Monday.
"It was agreed during the visit of the Russian defense minister that Myanmar would buy six Su-30 aircraft," Fomin said.
He believes that Su-30 will become the main fighter jet of the Myanmar Air Force.
"We believe that Su-30 will become the main fighter of the Myanmar Air Force to protect the country's territorial integrity and deter terrorist threats," Fomin said.
"We are ready to address any problems Myanmar may encounter in the fulfillment of the fighters' delivery contract in a rapid and amicable manner and on the contractual basis," he said.
Su-30 "is the main fighter of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which has proven its world-class combat capacities," Fomin said.
"Myanmar has also shown interest in naval and ground hardware made in Russia," he said.
"I am sure that military-technical cooperation between Russia and Myanmar will continue to develop in the interests of creating a modern Myanmar army equipped with high-tech armaments and military hardware of the Russian make," Fomin said.
Russian weapons have proven their value during use by the Myanmar army, Fomin said.
"These include Mil Mi-24, Mi-35, and Mi-17 helicopters, Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters, Yakovlev Yak-130 combat trainers, Pechora-2 anti-aircraft missile systems, and other weapons," Fomin said.
More than 600 Myanmar servicemen are studying at Russian military schools, he said.
"All this is strengthening security in Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific region as a whole," Fomin said.
Shoigu paid an official visit to Myanmar on January 20-22. An intergovernmental agreement was signed to facilitate visits of Russian warships to Myanmar ports, and negotiations were held with Myanmar Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Shoigu's press secretary Rossiyana Markovskaya told reporters earlier that the defense minister would pay official visits to Laos and Vietnam before January 23.