Military

Colombian, Russian Military in Close Contact on Helicopters Trade: Ambassador to Russia

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The military of Russia and Colombia are in close contact regarding purchases and maintenance of equipment for Russian helicopters, though there are now some issues with logistics, Colombian Ambassador to Russia Hector Arenas Neira told Sputnik on Saturday.
Sputnik
The diplomat noted that Colombia had numerous Mil Mi-17/Mi-18 helicopters produced in Russia and Russian specialists regularly came to Colombia to provide assistance with maintenance of helicopters, with Colombians coming to Russia to learn their operation.
"Yes, there are contacts regarding purchases and maintenance of equipment. I know that there are problems due to logistics, as helicopters are shipped by sea. Insurance costs have gone up as well as prices," the ambassador said.
Neira added that Colombia tried to diversify its imports of equipment for helicopters and future of cooperation between the two states would largely depend on market conditions.
Colombia has as many as 50 Russian produced helicopters, with 24 of them used for transport of the military and other 26 for civil purposes.
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