ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 8, 2004 Thursday

Russia, Armenia to hold several joint exercises in summer

MOSCOW

The Armed Forces of Russia and Armenia will hold several joint
exercises in summer this year, Colonel-General Mikhail Arutyunyan,
Armenia’s Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of
Defence, has announced in an interview published in the Krasnaya
Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper on Thursday.

Arutyunyan said, “Joint combat training activities are carried out
under the plan, signed by the defence ministers of our two countries,
for bilateral cooperation between the Defence Ministries in 2004 and
a plan for joint operational planning of the use of troops in the
interests of ensuring joint security.”

“A command-and-staff exercise in conjunction with the Combined Group
of Troops (CGT) and a joint tactical exercise with field firing are
planned for summer,” General Arutyunyan said. “Besides, it is planned
to hold a series of joint activities of air defence units and
aviation of the 102nd Russian military base and Armenia’s Armed
Forces that draw joint duty within the framework of the Joint Air
Defence System of CIS countries,” Arutyunyan emphasised.

“Joint command-and-staff training was conducted together with the CGT
early in February. At the end of that month, we held an operational
assembly of the Armed Forces’ commanding personnel with the
participation of the generals and officers of the Russian military
base located on Armenia’s territory,” Arutyunyan said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress