DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
November 30, 2007 Friday
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIS UNITED AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM AS A PRIORITY OF
MILITARY COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE COMMONWEALTH
Kazakh Defense Minister Danial Ahmetov said at the press conference
in Astana in the wake of meeting of the CIS Council of Defense
Ministers that development of the CIS United Air Defense System was
voted as a priority of military cooperation within the framework of
the Commonwealth. "The list of priorities includes furtherance of the
CIS United Air Defense System, participation in joint military
exercises, and advancement of military-technical cooperation along
the already established lines," he said.
According to Ahmetov, agenda of the meeting comprised 18 issues
including plans of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers and joint
exercises of the CIS United Air Defense System in 2008. "We also
discussed realization of the concept of developing a common
communications network encompassing all CIS armies, endorsed object
identification methods and practices," Ahmetov added. "The results of
working bodies of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers in 2007 were
toted up."
The Kazakh defense minister added that security and stability of the
Commonwealth depended entirely "on joint efforts." The next meeting
of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers was scheduled to take place
in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in the first half of 2008.
Delegations of defense ministries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, and Ukraine attended the meeting in Astana.
Source: ARMS-TASS news agency, November 27, 2007