The Russian Defense Ministry has no plans to recruit foreign nationals to fill officer ranks, Deputy Chief of the General Staff Vasily Smirnov said on Friday.
"Manning our armed forces with foreigners has never been our priority," he said.
The Russian military eased rules for recruiting foreign nationals, according to amendments posted on the Defense Ministry website on Thursday.
Smirnov said a foreign national aged 18-30 can sign a 5-year contract and serve as private or sergeant but not as a commissioned officer.
The worsening demographic situation and the reluctance of Russians to serve have apparently driven the military to seek recruits among the ranks of the growing immigrant population.
As of 2009, about 350 foreign nationals were serving in the Russian Armed Forces. Most were from CIS countries, whose citizens make up the bulk of Russia's immigrant population, but there was also a handful from Latvia, Germany, and Israel.
According to official sources, 699 foreigners applied to join the Russian military in the past year but most were rejected over poor command of Russian, health problems, or inferior education levels.
MOSCOW, November 26 (RIA Novosti)
