Russia on Wednesday ruled out any possibility of military-technical cooperation with the Chinese province of Taiwan, including cooperation on dual-purpose products.
While developing unofficial ties with Taiwan, Russia firmly holds the stand of "no military-technical cooperation," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told the press here.
The statement came after some recent media reports about ongoing secret discussion between Russia and Taiwan on military cooperation.
Such reports "that do not correspond to reality" have often been published by mass media in the last years ahead of important Russian-Chinese meetings, he noted.
Several days ago, the British and Hong Kong press carried articles alleging that Russia and Taiwan were exploring possibilities of organizing the production of Kilo-type submarines on the island.
Yakovenko said that Russia exercises proper state control over the transfer of weapons, military equipment, technology for their production, materials and dual-purpose commodities to other countries, territories, individuals and legal entities.
"And of course, this applies to Taiwan as well," which Russia regards as an inseparable part of China, he stressed.
(People's Daily 06/28/2001)
