Russian-Kazakh Joint Air Defense Shield to be used only in times of war - Astana official
13 May 2014, 14:49 -- Kazakhstan and Russia are planning to build their Joint Air Defense Shield in order to defend the territorial integrity and independence of both states, Kazakh Deputy Defense Minister Okas Saparov has said.
'The main goal of creating a joint air defense system of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation will be to protect the airspace of the two states and defend their territorial integrity and independence,' he said at an expanded session of the Kazakh Senate committee for international relations, defense and security in Astana on Tuesday.
Saparov made his remarks as the committee debated a bill ratifying the Russian-Kazakh agreement to build the two countries' Joint Regional Air Defense Shield.
Saparov confirmed that the planned shield would be used only in times of war.
'In times of peace, the Joint Air Defense Shield will fulfill only its routine duties and will be controlled by the national command centers. In times of war, it will tackle combat tasks under the control of one commander,' Saparov said.
The command center of the Joint Air Defense Shield is expected to be placed in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and its commander will be a Kazakh representative, Interfax reports.
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