ROSTOV-ON-DON, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - The Joint Group of Forces in the North Caucasus lost 51 men in action in the first six months of 2005, the Russian defense minister said Thursday.
But Sergei Ivanov told journalists in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don: "Combat losses have fallen by 1.3 times compared with the same period last year."
Ivanov also spoke about the situation with combat payments. The minister said that when a decision had been made to provide "material incentives" for soldiers in the counter terrorist operation in Chechnya, the mechanism of supplying the additional payments had unfortunately not been worked out in full. He added this was why many servicemen had been forced to resort to the courts to get their money.
The minister said the additional money was not paid for the entire time the soldiers spent in Chechnya, but for the combat missions they carried out in the counter-terrorist operation on orders from their commanders.
"Accordingly, the claims made in a number of cases by those who served with the Joint Group of Forces at different times and who demanded payment for their entire time there [in Chechnya] are without foundation," the minister said.
Ivanov said the combat payment problem needed to be resolved. "The relevant amendments to the legislation have been submitted, and federal budget funds to pay the [combat payment] debts are coming. The state will pay its debts soon," he said.
