YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Emergency Situations will receive 22 new Japanese firefighting engines in November, and 26 units of other, Russian equipment, Minister Felix Tsolakyan told a news conference.

Tsolakyan says they need to have helicopters for firefighting, evacuation and high-terrain and forest search and rescue (SAR) operations.

“We’ve now found a good option for acquiring helicopters, and if we realize this we will have firefighting and evacuation helicopters. This issue is seemingly getting solved through the government, however I can’t mention timeframes yet. We plan to acquire 4 helicopters,” he said.

Tsolakyan also emphasized that Armenia has agreements with Georgia and Iran who provide air support if needed during firefighting operations.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan