Russian Defence Minister Announces Major CIS Military Exercises

RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER ANNOUNCES MAJOR CIS MILITARY EXERCISES

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
21 May 04

Yerevan, 21 May: At the beginning of August “large-scale exercises
of the armed forces of the CIS member countries” will be held in
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov
said today following the conclusion of a sitting of the CIS Council
of Ministers of Defence.

He said Russia would be represented at the exercises by military
transport and combat aviation, the air force and also by permanent
readiness units and subunits which will be transferred to the zone
of the exercises.

Apart from this, said the minister, “exercises codenamed
Zapad-Antiterror in which antiterrorist subunits from a number of CIS
countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Kyrgyz Republic
will take part, will be held on the territory of Moldova at the end
of June”.