Israel has agreed to supply 36 drones next year to assist Russia fight Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus.
A $100 million agreement to this effect was signed in Moscow on Monday by visiting Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his Russian counterpart Anatoli Serdjukov.
Serdyukov said 50 Russian pilots are currently being trained to operate a dozen Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that Israel supplied under a deal signed last year.
Russia's state-owned news agency Ria Novosti said Moscow was currently negotiating with Israeli government about setting up a joint venture to build UAVs after failure of the development of indigenous drones.
A sharp upswing in lawlessness and separatist violence in Muslim-dominated autonomous North Caucasus Republics of Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia is undermining Kremlin's control over its southern flank.
Several people, including Ministers and top government officials, had been killed in attacks by armed militants in the recent past, prompting calls to increase criminal liability and preventive measures against terrorism.
"We are also always in the fight against Islamist terrorism," Barak told reporters, referring to attacks by Gaza-based militant group Hamas.
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