Mr Ivanov informed the President of the results of the military exercises that took place in August 2005. The completion of work on establishing a common air defence system for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was the main result achieved by the exercises that took place in Astrakhan Region, Mr Ivanov said.
Mr Ivanov reported on the successful completion of joint Russian-Chinese military exercises and on future plans to hold military exercises within the framework of the CIS and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), as well as with India and Uzbekistan.
Mr Putin instructed the Defence Minister to examine, together with the Foreign Ministry, the possibility of holding military exercises similar to the recent Russian-Chinese exercises that would also involve Russia’s other partners in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Mr Ivanov also told the President that 800 foreign citizens, mostly from CIS and CSTO member states, will begin receiving free tuition at Russian military higher education establishments on September 1. The budget has already allocated 450 million roubles (about 15 million USD) for this training programme.