GAZA CITY [MENL] -- Russia plans to launch training of Palestinian Authority security forces.

The PA Interior Ministry said Russian police officers have arrived in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to train PA police and security forces. A ministry statement did not say how many Russian trainers arrived and the expected length of their stay.

This was the first time Russia has sent officers to train PA security forces. Moscow has maintained a security relationship with the PA since its inception in 1994.

"Foreign Ministry and Russian Defense Ministry officials arrived in the Palestinian territories to assist in training the security forces, whose capabilities were undermined during the Intifada," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Oct. 13.