BERLIN/MOSCOW, July 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russian and German paratroopers began joint exercises in Zweibrucken (Land Rheinland-Phalz) and Pskov, Monday.
A German Defense Ministry spokesman said a Russian paratrooper platoon from the Russian city of Pskov, which borders Estonia and Latvia, had come to Germany to practice descents with a German paratrooper battalion.
He said that the main objective was to improve counter-terrorist and rescue operations.
The paratroopers will simulate evacuations of local people from a crisis area, which could be a conflict zone or an area in which there has been a natural disaster.
The Russians will be also familiarized with the training and everyday life of their counterparts.
A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said that a German paratrooper platoon would undergo training at a military facility in Pskov.
The spokesman said that conducting joint training and exercises was part of a program to ensure the operational compatibility of the Russian and German military. He said that it was the second military exchange. In 2002 a German special operations platoon visited the Russian town of Kostroma, and Russian paratroopers visited Germany.
