MOSCOW. June 4 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia and Kazakhstan will sign an interstate agreement on the joint planning and use of troops for security purposes, a Moscow source told Interfax on Wednesday.
"The document is expected to be signed during Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov's visit to Astana, scheduled for June 8-11," the source said.
The trip's agenda also includes meetings and negotiations with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev and Defense Minister Mukhtar Altynbayev.
"Apart from bilateral defense contacts, the Astana talks will address the military and political situation in Central Asia and the fight against international terrorism," he said.
Ivanov and his Kazakh counterpart Altynbayev "will also discuss their ministries' joint efforts within international organizations, including the CIS, the Collective Security Treaty and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization."
In addition to this, the Russian defense minister will attend a session of CIS defense ministers in Astana on June 9 and visit the Baikonur cosmodrome, which conducts launches of Russian military satellites, on June 11.