MOSCOW. Oct 20 (Interfax) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu suggested discussing issues relating to military and military-technical cooperation, joint exercises, and the functioning of common command systems in a meeting with Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin in Moscow on Wednesday.
"I hope we will also discuss today the prospects of further military-technical cooperation, military cooperation, our joint exercises, events that we plan to hold in the near future," Shoigu said.
He suggested summing up the outcome of the Zapad (West) 2021 joint exercise, discussing everything that pertains to further operation of the joint command systems. "And of course, everything that is necessary for further work on our military and military-technical cooperation track," Shoigu said.
The Russian defense minister said relations with Belarus are important and strategic to both countries and to the two countries' peoples.
"And of course, we plan to continue everything we did in the past, the issues that are now on the agenda are extremely important and very necessary," Shoigu said.
Khrenin, for his part, agreed with the proposed agenda of the meeting, adding that Russia is a strategic partner and ally of Belarus.
"Russia, the Russian army is our strategic partner and ally. We don't see our future without the Russian Federation," the Belarusian defense minister said.