MOSCOW. July 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Commanders-in-chief of the Armed Forces of northern European countries have invited Chief of the Russian Army Headquarters, General Yury Baluyevsky to participate at their regular meetings on peacekeeping operations and joint exercises.
"On behalf of the Commanders-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, I have invited the chief of the Russian Army Headquarters to participate in our traditional meetings in order to increase interaction during peacekeeping operations and joint exercises," Chief of Defense of the Finnish Defense Forces Juhani Kaskeala told journalists in Moscow on Friday.
"The harmonization of efforts between the five countries will enable us to achieve greater efficiency than by cooperating merely on a bilateral basis," he said.
Baluyevsky promised to "seriously discuss the proposal and gladly accepted the invitation," he said.
Kaskeala said talks with Baluyevsky were the focal point of his visit to Russia. Particular attention was paid to issues concerning cooperation between the Northern European countries and Russia, in particular, the exchange of experience among military experts, he said.
The talks also focused on the need to expand cooperation to secure safety of maritime communications, he added.
Kaskeala said he had traveled to the Siberian military district to visit the district training center and local troops and that he was optimistic about the prospects for the Russian Armed Forces. "The time when the Russian Army lacked resources remained in the past," he said.