MOSCOW, April 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's defense minister said Wednesday that the six member countries of a regional security grouping would conduct anti-terrorism exercises in Russia next year.
"The exercises will be conducted within the Volga-Urals military district," Sergei Ivanov told a meeting in Beijing of his counterparts from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Ivanov said the exercises, proposed by Russia and agreed during the meeting, were not directed at any state and would for the first time involve units from all SCO members: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Ivanov, who is also deputy prime minister of Russia, said that defense and security cooperation within the SCO had contributed to peace and stability in Central Asia, adding that it was a vital part of a comprehensive cooperation program designed to address common political, economic, social, and humanitarian issues.
"The organization's economic, political, and social development cannot be achieved without stability," he said.
Moscow has proposed drafting an SCO cooperation concept for defense agencies, Ivanov said, adding that this document would allow the organization to develop military cooperation with other regional groupings in the former Soviet Union.
