MOSCOW, April 4 (UPI) -- In 2005 Russia sold $6 billion of armaments and military equipment, a record amount since the 1991 collapse of the USSR.
The Moscow Times reported Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed the figure during a meeting of the Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation last week.
Putin told commission members: "The aggregate plan of supplies has been surpassed by 20 percent; the geography of supplies has expanded to 61 countries. Another height has been cleared in Russian arms exports. The aggregate plan for 2005 was exceeded by 20 percent and delivery volumes exceeded $6 billion. This is a record figure for recent times."
Putin told committee members that the 2005 orders for arms exports exceeded 2004 figures by 61 percent.
During the 1980s, Soviet arms exports were worth an estimated $20 billion, but many were provided to Soviet allies for a credit, barter or even free in an effort to garner political influence.
Putin told committee members that while Rosoboronexport's client base was expanding, including a potential $7.5 billion deal with Algeria, Russia's "main partners" were still China and India. Ministry of Defense officials earlier this year noted that the two countries currently accounted for about 70 percent of Russian arms exports.
