Moscow "attaches great significance to Uzbekistan’s equal participation in the work of the permanently operating bodies - the secretariat and united headquarters - of the Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO]", Russian Defence Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov has said during talks with his Uzbek counterpart Ruslan Mirzayev, the Russian Defence Ministry’s press secretary, Aleksey Kuznetsov, has told an ITAR-TASS correspondent.

The Russian minister expressed the hope that the introduction of four posts at the united headquarters for representatives of the armed forces of Uzbekistan "will make it possible to more efficiently solve issues relating to the improvement of the CSTO’s military component", Kuznetsov said.

At present, 126 Uzbek servicemen are studying at higher educational establishments of the Russian Ministry of Defence for free and on preferential terms.