MOSCOW. Nov 15 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian and NATO troops have carried out over 100 joint projects in 2005, a Russian Defense Ministry source told Interfax-Military News Agency on Tuesday.
"The most significant example of joint efforts within the NATO-Russia Council is an approved list of measures intended to raise the operational compatibility of troops of Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance in 2005. It included 45 joint efforts, among them 13 joint exercises, seven command post games to check compatibility, ten exercises to test the compatibility of their communications systems and other measures," the source said.
The NATO-Russia Council will tackle a broader agenda in the military area in 2006, he said.
"According to the political and military instructions aimed at enhancing compatibility of Russian and NATO forces, adopted in Brussels in summer this year, 2006 will see exercises of Russian and NATO special-purpose forces, naval search and rescue exercises, military transport aviation maneuvers, and signalmen war games," the source noted.
Russian Navy ships will also take part in NATO's anti-terrorist effort in the Mediterranean called Active Endeavor in early 2006, he said.
"Starting from early 2006, Russian Black Sea Fleet ships will embark on patrol missions jointly with NATO ships in the Mediterranean and Black Seas," the source stressed.
According to him, the NATO-Russian Council session on the level of chiefs-of-staff, which is taking place in Brussels on Tuesday and involving Russian Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Yury Baluyevsky, is expected to approve the list of events aimed at increasing compatibility of Russian and NATO forces for 2006.