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Uzbekistan
15/10/2008
Ex-Soviet states to hold joint air defense drills in 2009
CIS flag
Members of the Commonwealth of Independent States have agreed to conduct joint air defense exercises in the summer of 2009, RIA Novosti reported citing the Russian defense minister on Wednesday.
"The joint exercises with live firing, dubbed Combat Commonwealth-2009, will be held in June-September 2009," Anatoly Serdyukov told a news conference after a meeting of CIS defense ministers.
The Council of CIS defense ministers held its 55th meeting in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, focusing on the role and activities of the collective CIS peacekeeping force in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone, and improving the integrated air defense system of CIS countries, RIA Novosti reported.
The CIS, a loose alliance of former Soviet states, comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Ukraine is a founding and participating country but technically not a member state. Turkmenistan holds associate status.
An integrated air defense network was set up by 10 CIS member countries on 10 February 1995.
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