RUSSIA AND MONGOLIA DISCUSS DEFENSE RELATIONS IN MOSCOW

Ulaanbaatar, /MONTSAME/. Mongolian Defence Minister Luvsanvandan Bold has met Russian Minister of Defence Anatoly Serdyukov in Moscow. The sides discussed state and prospects of military and military-technical bilateral cooperation, security issues in Central Asia and Asia-Pacific region.
Defence ministers took a favourable view of Darkhan-2, Russo-Mongolian military exercise (August-September 2009). According to the Defence Minister of Russia, this trend should be consolidated through strengthening the quality and extent of interaction during joint exercises on various spheres using forces and means mix. As Anatoly Serdyukov underlined, principally it is referred to cooperation between the troops of the Siberian Military District and the armed forces of Mongolia, as well as joint anti-terrorism activity and interoperability during peacekeeping operations.
During the meeting Russian party confirmed readinesses to continue prepare personnel for the armed forces of Mongolia in the Russian Ministry of Defence military educational institutions. Today, more than 200 Mongolian soldiers receive training in Russia. In addition, in accordance with the Russo-Mongolian arrangements in the current training year Omsk Cadet Corps welcomed 20 citizens of minority age from Mongolia, with this end in view in Russia for the first time was formed the legal framework regulating the possibility of such training.
At the conclusion of the talks Chief the RF Armed Forces General Staff, Army General Nikolai Makarov had been awarded Mongolia's national award - the Order of the Polar Star.
S. Batbayar