FC ratifies 2 protocols expanding Russia-CSTO military coop

ITAR-TASS News Agency
December 8, 2004 Wednesday 9:02 AM Eastern Time

MOSCOW, December 8 — The Federation Council ratified two protocols
that expand military-technical cooperation between Russia and the
member-countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO)
on Wednesday.

In particular, the protocol on introducing amendments in the
Russian-Armenian agreement on the Russian military base in Armenia
was ratified. It was noted at a Federation Council session that the
goal of the protocol is to bring the earlier reached agreements on the
Russian military base in compliance with “a higher level of military
and political cooperation of the countries” on the bilateral basis
and within the CSTO framework.

The agreement on the military base was signed in March 1995, and
the protocol on November 11, 2003 in Yerevan. The Armenian side has
already ratified the agreement in April this year that supplements
the bilateral agreement.

The Federation Council also ratified the protocol on
introducing amendments in the agreement on the main principles of
military-technical cooperation among the CSTO states. The CSTO prime
ministers signed the protocol on September 19, 2003 in Yalta.

The parliaments of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan have
already ratified the document. The document enlarges the field of
applying benefits on arms supplies for the armed forces of the CSTO
states and does not allow their supplies to third countries without
the written accord of a supplier.