ASTANA. June 9 (Interfax-AVN) - Starting from 2004, Russia will sell its weapons to the Collective Security Treaty Organization signatories at Russian internal prices, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has said.
"The signatories to the Collective Security Treaty Organization will be able to buy Russian arms at Russian internal prices. This will also improve the organization's appeal," Ivanov said at a news briefing in Astana on Sunday.
Commenting on an agreement on joint military planning and the use of troops, which Russia and Kazakhstan initialed in Astana on Sunday, Ivanov said, "The initialed document will enable the Defense Ministries and the General Staffs of the two countries to plan and use troops in closer coordination in the interests of security."
Since the USSR broke up, about 1,500 servicemen from Kazakhstan's armed forces have undergone training in Russia, he said.
"At the moment, about 800 servicemen from the Kazakh armed forces are studying at 43 institutes of the Russian Defense Ministry. This makes one third of all servicemen from the CIS studying in Russia," Ivanov said.