Russian President: it is professionals who should serve in hot spots

Russian President Vladimir Putin told cadets of the Ryazan paratroopers academy Friday that instead of young recruits, professional servicemen who have chosen war as their career should be dispatched to hot spots.

The president referred to the problem of encouraging young people to enlist on the contract service as a very complicated one. The first thing to do, he said, is to change the attitude toward the military service. "It assumed a strongly negative nature some time ago and society undervalued the significance of the armed forces," said the head of state. "But as all have realized that they are endangered, the attitude toward the army service and special forces has also changed." The state should above all enhance the authority of the armed forces, he believes. To attract more people to contract service, appropriate social and financial conditions should be created and the government is busy tackling the problem, concluded Putin.