Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources AFP
The offer included "six Mi-24 helicopters, 31 T-72 assault tanks," as well as 36 mortars for 130-mm shells and around half million rounds of medium-calibre ammunition, the statement added.
In February, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman announced during a visit to Moscow that Russia had agreed to a request for Mi-24 helicopter gunships instead of the MIG-29 fighter jets originally promised in 2008.
On Sunday, on the eve of his two-day visit, Hariri had said he hoped to finalise that deal and said Lebanese helicopter pilots were already training for the new aircraft.
Following the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon's Shiite movement Hezbollah the poorly equipped Lebanese army deployed in the south of the country for the first in three decades.
Earlier Monday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called on Lebanon to support Russian companies seeking to invest there, during his talks with Hariri.
"We have good possibilities to increase our economic collaboration thanks to major joint projects in the fields of energy, transport, communication and military technology co-operation," Putin said, Russian news agencies reported.
"In certain cases our big companies announced they would participate in invitations to tender and we ask you to support these bids," he added.
Hariri said his government welcomed Russian investment in transport and energy and in the construction of railways and dams.
Some analysts see the continuing rapprochement between the two countries as an attempt by Russia to reassert its influence in theMiddle East, which has waned since the Soviet era.
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