Russia and Armenia to Establish Joint Air Defense System

MOSCOW — Russia plans to establish a joint air defense system with Armenia and two other Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) allies, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, according to a report by TASS news agency.

“The improvement and development of the united air defense system of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries will be discussed in Astrakhan (southern Russia) on Tuesday by members of the Coordinating Committee on Air Defense under the CIS Council of Defense Ministers.” The Russian Defense Ministry stated.

The Committee’s regular meeting will be attended by delegations from the Defense Ministries of the Russian Federation, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The draft Armenian-Russian agreement on the kind of joint system is now ready for signing.

“I hope that the adjustments will be completed this year,” Chief of Russia’s General Staff and First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces Lieutenant-General Pavel Kurachenko said, according to the source.

Similar agreements with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are still being coordinated by the countries’ relevant agencies.

The united air defense system of CIS countries was created on the basis of an agreement between 10 Commonwealth countries, signed on February 10, 1995 in Alma-Ata, for an indefinite period.