BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/01/2008

Russia, Belarus defense chiefs sign communications deal

MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - The defense ministers of Russia and Belarus signed an agreement on Saturday to set up a communications system between regional groupings of the countries' Armed Forces.

Russia's Anatoly Serdyukov and his Belarusian counterpart Leonid Maltsev met in Moscow for talks on bilateral military cooperation.

Serdyukov said last year that the development of military ties with Russia's ex-Soviet neighbor have been encouraged by NATO's eastward expansion and U.S. missile shield plans, and that Russia would continue to supply arms and military hardware to Belarus at subsidized rates and on a priority basis.

The countries are developing a unified air defense system in line with plans to create a Union State, which they have been working on since 1997, envisioning a common economic, customs, and political space.

Source:

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080119/97349992.html