The chiefs of the CIS general staffs on Friday spoke in favor of the integration of the national armed forces of the organization's member states, the chief of Russia's General Staff, Army Gen. Nikolai Makarov said.

"All participants noted the necessity of building their national armies on integration principles within the commonwealth," Makarov said after a meeting with his CIS counterparts.

The CIS, or Commonwealth of Independent States, is a loose association of former Soviet republics. It consists of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. Georgia pulled out of the organization in 2009.

Seven member states are part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a post-Soviet security bloc.

MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti)