BAKU, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - Defense ministers from former Soviet republics set priorities for the next four years at a meeting of the CIS Defense Council in the capital of Azerbaijan, Russia's defense minister said Wednesday.
"[Those attending] made a decision to update the structure of the council, approved guidelines for the council's work to 2010, and coordinated financial issues on a combined air defense system for 2007," Sergei Ivanov said.
The Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, is a loose association of former Soviet republics.
Ivanov, who is also a deputy prime minister, said members of the council also agreed to extend the tenure of Sergei Chaban as commander of peacekeeping forces in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone for six months.
"The session was fruitful and met all expectations," Ivanov said.
