• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

CIS defense ministers define approaches to military cooperation

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Moscow, June 3, Itar-Tass/IRNA -- The defense ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have defined conceptual approaches to the development of military cooperation between the CIS countries up to 2015.

The secretary of the CIS Defense Ministers' Council, Alexander Sinaiski, told reporters after the session on Wednesday that in view of the importance of integration processes in the military sphere, the defense ministers have defined conceptual approaches to the development of the military cooperation by the CIS countries up to 2015 and approved a schedule of common activities by their armed forces till 2010.

According to Sinaiski, "Within the framework of multilateral integration in the military sphere the ministers made a decision to create a coordination center responsible for such matters as repairs, spare parts and the upgrading of the CIS countries' military hardware and defined rules of exchanging information about the needs for military hardware spare parts."

The ministers also discussed ways of improving the joint air defense system and a plan for joint exercises and live firing practice, he said.

The participants in the session also defined the dates and activities of the second phase of creating a joint communication system and approved a list of facilities to be included in that system.

The defense ministers analysed the flight safety situation in the CIS armed forces and made a decision to create a package of applied programs ensuring the successful operation of a unified information and analysis flight
safety system and the reliability of CIS military technologies.

According to Sinaiski, the CIS defense ministers did not discuss Georgia's walkout from the Commonwealth. It will be considered in August. "That is why the Georgian flag is still here," he said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry's official recalled that Georgia terminated its participation in the CIS Defense Ministers' Council in January 2006. The deadline for completing the withdrawal procedure is August 19. After that date Tbilisi will stop to be a member of the Commonwealth.

Currently Georgia is a participant in 100 treaties concluded within the framework of the CIS. None of those treaties require their signatores should be CIS members.

The defense ministers of Moldova, Ukraine and Turkmenistan are observers in the Council. This time Turkmenistan was absent from the session.