BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

October 20, 2005

Russia, Belarus to hold military exercise next year

Russia and Belarus will hold large- scale joint military exercises involving ground, air and air defense forces in the first half of 2006, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday.

Military aircraft, ranging from fighters to radar planes to freighters, will participate in the maneuvers, Ivanov said after a meeting with his Belarussian counterpart, Leonid Maltsev, in Moscow.

Military cooperation to guarantee the security of the two nations "can be regarded as the locomotive of the ongoing integration process," Ivanov said, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.

Ivanov also noted important aspects of the two country's military ties, which include unifying military legislation, ensuring proper functioning of the Russia-Belarus regional group of armed forces, training military personnel and promoting military technology cooperation.

Source: Xinhua

Source:

http://english.people.com.cn/200510/20/eng20051020_215466.html