Russia long-haul bomber flights permanent - Putin

CHEBARKUL, Russia, Aug 17 (Reuters) President Vladimir Putin said today Russia would permanently revive the Soviet-era practice of sending its bomber aircraft on long-range flights far beyond its own territory.

''We have decided to restore flights by Russian strategic aviation on a permanent basis,'' Putin told reporters at joint military exercises with China and four Central Asian states in Russia's Ural mountains.

Earlier this month Russian air force generals said bomber crews had flown near the Pacific island of Guam, where the US military has a base, forcing U.S. aircraft to scramble into the air to track them.

The Pentagon said the Russian aircraft did not come close enough to U.S. ships to prompt American aircraft to react.

But many observers said the sorties -- which were cut back in the 1990s due to funding shortages in the Russian military -- were a sign of Russia's growing assertiveness.

REUTERS ARB PM1919