Russian Parliament Likely To Ratify Russo-Armenian Military Agreement

Russia's Federation Council will consider the Russo-Armenian agreement on jointly planning the use of forces in the interests of common security, at its next session due on December 5. According to the respective committee of the Federation Council, the agreement is aimed at forming common defence space within the Collective Security Treaty in the southern strategic region. The agreement was signed in September 2000 at the CIS heads summit in Sochi and will be effective for five years. The agreement envisages an entire set of measures on cooperation between armed forces, and its practical realisation will fall on the Russian and Armenian defence ministries. They are supposed to conduct joint analysis of the military-political situation, coordinate conclusions with regard to potential threats and adopt decisions on the composition of the joint group of forces. This agreement is significant especially in the context of the current geopolitical situation in the Caucasus, the committee stressed.