#5 - RW 260
Russia, NATO to hold joint missile defence exercises in USA
Interfax

Madrid, 4 June: Russia and NATO have agreed to hold joint command-post theatre missile defence exercises in the USA.

A statement issued by the NATO-Russia Council following a ministerial meeting in Madrid on Wednesday [4 June] says that the agreement on planning and holding joint Russian-NATO command-post exercises for theatre missile defence systems in the USA confirms the obligations assumed by the 20 countries to devise a practical approach to joint work and to improve the compatibility of Russian and NATO systems.

Diplomatic sources told Interfax that the dates for the exercises have not yet been set.

The foreign ministers who took part in the meeting welcomed the progress reached in working out common terminology and a basic concept for possible future deployment of theatre missile defence systems, the document says.

Such systems are to be used for supporting crisis response operations involving NATO-Russia forces, it says.

In Madrid, the parties agreed to start the first phase of detailed studies on system compatibility. These studies concern technical standards and opportunities for cooperation in joint multinational operations, the statement reads.

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