MOSCOW, April 23 (AVN) - A consultative meeting of deputy defence and foreign ministers of the Collective Security Treaty member started in Alma-Ata on Monday, a spokesman for the Collective Security Council told the Military News Agency.
Russia is represented by Colonel-General Igor Puzanov, state secretary and deputy defence minister, and First Deputy Foreign Minister Nikolai Trubnikov. Valery Nikolayenko, collective security council chairman, is also taking part in the meeting.
The main aim of the meeting is to prepare for a joint session of defence and foreign ministers of the treaty's member nations which is to be held in Yerevan in the second part of May before the Collective Security Council session. The meeting aims to consider several documents related to establishing a quick reaction coalition troops group in Central Asia under the auspices of the regional security system. The group will include units and formations of the Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Russian and Tajik Armed Forces.
Officials will also discuss several other issues related to military integration, including establishment of regional groups of the treaty's members in the Caucasus and in the Western European theatre of operations.