French Chief Of Staff Jean-pierre Kelch To Visit Moscow

General Jean-Pierre Kelch, chief of staff of the French army, will arrive in Moscow at night on December 12 at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Anatoly Kvashnin. According to a defence ministry spokesman, in the morning of December 13 the general will hold negotiations with Anatoly Kvashnin, have a formal meeting with Russian Defense minister Sergei Ivanov and talk with Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo later in the day. The agenda of Gen. Kelch also includes meeting with Andrei Nikolayev and Dmitry Rogozin, chairmen of the State Duma (lower parliamentary house) committees on defence and international affairs. On December 14 Jean-Pierre Kelch will hold meetings in the foreign ministry. According to the defence ministry spokesman, the subjects under discussion will be military collaboration in the struggle against international terrorism, the situation in Afghanistan and the progress of the counter-terror operation there, the current situation and prospects of Russo-French military and military-technical cooperation, Russia-NATO relations, and problems of strategic stability and security. On December 15 the general will fly back to Paris.