MOSCOW. June 8 (Interfax-AVN) - The official opening ceremony of the Peace Mission-2012 anti-terrorist exercise of SCO member nations will take place in Tajikistan on Saturday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman for the ground forces Col. Sergei Vlasov has said.
"Chiefs of General Staffs of Armed Forces of SCO member nations heard a report on the scenario of the troop movements at Chorukh-Dairon firing range in Tajikistan delivered by chief of Tajik Defense Ministry combat training department Maj. Gen. Mirali Rakhmatov," he told Interfax-AVN on Friday.
He said that after the approval of the plan of the exercise on Friday operation headquarters launched the joint planning of combat action.
"Orientation in the exercise area took place during which operational coordination was organized for fulfilling tasks of the joint anti-terrorist operation in mountain conditions," Vlasov quoted deputy chief of the Russian General Staff Col. Gen. Alexander Postnikov as saying.
In Postnikov's opinion, the exercise is one of the culmination stages of combat training this year. During the summer training period Russian Armed Forces will take part in a total of eight international joint exercises.
The current exercise involves command bodies and troops from five SCO countries - Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China and Tajikistan.