23 March 2004 10:35
Putin tells government to launch housing scheme for army officers
Moscow, 23 March: Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to draw up a bill on housing for the
military "in the shortest possible time".
The head of state told a conference on this document at the Ministry of Defence today that "the state is to pay
into the personal account of every officer joining the service from 1 January 2005 a specific sum of money to pay for
housing. After three years' service, an officer will be able to use this money to buy a flat on a
mortgage".
Putin made it clear that "essentially these flats will be purchased on credit and the state will repay this on
behalf of the serving officer". "Moreover, it will be his own (the officer's) property," the
president stressed.
He also said that "those who joined the army before 1 January 2005 must not be forgotten", obligations to
them must also be met.
[Another ITAR-TASS news agency report, at 0923 gmt, said that at the conference Putin "acknowledged that
'the state has a huge backlog of unfulfilled obligations' to the military" and that "the situation
is quite wrong". "Those who give the most to their country - and those who go to serve in the army and the
navy know that in some circumstances they may lose their lives - receive the least of all," the agency reported
Putin saying. The conference was also attended by Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov, Economic Development Minister German
Gref and Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin]
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
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