Federation Council on Russia switching to contract enlistment

Russia may switch to contract enlistment entirely with time, but it is crucial to have a mobilization reserve, which is now comprised of conscripts, head of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security Viktor Bondarev said.

"Twice a year we conscript 150,000 people, although we can conscript more," he recalled, adding that people are eager to serve.

"I think that, with time, we might switch to contract enlistment entirely, but at this moment, we have the exact system of enlistment that allows both to pay for the contract servicemen and train conscripts," TASS cited him Bondarev as saying.

"We have already adopted the contract basis," he noted, adding that Russia has almost 400,000 contract servicemen now.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that conscription is fading into the past, adding that current Armed Forces technical level implies less and less involvement of unqualified personnel.