Sergei Ivanov and Franz Josef Jung are meeting in Russia's second city to discuss the development of military ties under existing agreements, as well as major global and regional security issues, including Iraq, Afghanistan and other "hot spots."
"Russian-German relations are currently on the rise," Ivanov said. "The main features are a strategic character, intensity of contacts and mutual trust, which could also be applied to security and cooperation in the military sphere."
A source in the Russian Defense Ministry previously said Russia and Germany had recently expanded collaboration in the defense sphere. In 2005, the countries held 17 joint events, and planned to increase this number to 29 in 2006, with 13 events in Russia and 16 in Germany.
