Belarus and Russia get ready for new military exercises
13- 29.01.2010, 13:58
Defense Ministers of Belarus and Russia Yury Zhadobin and Anatoly Serdyukov have agreed upon joint strategic exercises in 2011.
“We have approved aims and goals of the joint strategic exercise planned for 2011, which is once in two years on an instruction of Russian and Belarusian presidents,” Anatoly Serdyukov said to journalists, Interfax informs.
Yury Zhadobin noted that during the talks 12 issues of military cooperation were discussed, and a decision on the each of them was adopted.
Irina Kovalchyk, a spokesperson of Russian Defense Ministry, told to journalists that the heads of the military agencies of Belarus and Russia adopted a decision to create a system of control and reconnaissance in the air space at low and near ground levels along the Western border of the “union state”.
As said by her, “a program of a low-level radar field on the Belarus-Russia state border” would be developed for that.
Kovalchuk said that Defense Ministers have also signed an updated protocol to the 1996 Agreement which envisages free military exercises by Belarusian air defense forces at Russian military ranges.
“Signing the protocol allows to hold firing exercises to anti-aircraft and units of the air defense and air forces of Belarus under the same conditions as well,” she said.
Besides, as said by her, at the meeting the heads of military ministries considered issues of participation of Russian units in the joint Parade in Minsk to mark the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
It was the first foreign working visit to Russia of Belarusian Defense minister, General Lieutenant Zhadobin, appointed in December last year, Kovalchuk noted.
We remind that in 2009 Russia and Belarus held the Zapad 2009 military exercises in Belarus.
As charter97.org website informed, on November 1, British Telegraph with a reference to Polish magazine Wprost wrote that during recent joint Belarusian-Russian military drills West 2009, an amphibious landing on the Polish coast and the firing of nuclear weapons were simulated.
