"We consider the initiative of the SPS regarding transition to a six-month term of military service (as a means of maintaining the military reserve) counterproductive politically. Additional studies that we have conducted confirmed that this concept is also unsound generally," Deputy Chairman of the Defence Committee of the State Duma Alexei Arbatov told journalists.

"In any case this is not the main issue of military reform, and the problem of training the military reserve can be resolved by other, more efficient methods," noted Arbatov.

Arbatov stressed that "One of the priorities of the programme and practical work of the Russian Democratic Party YABLOKO is to facilitate the transition to a voluntary contract-based principle of recruitment of the Armed Forces and other troops, as the most important direction of military reform in Russia.

Alexei Arbatov also said that "the draft alternative budgets [of Russia] for 2000-2002 submitted by YABLOKO on this direction of military reform had been calculated in detail and had received financial substantiation as quite realistic."

See also:

The Russian Army

YABLOKO and the SPS