Russia and Kazakhstan plan to set up a regional group of armed forces, the deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, Colonel-General Valery Gerasimov, told reporters during a teleconference Moscow-Astana on Thursday, Itar-Tass reported.
"Nowadays there are two regional military groups within the CIS. Russian maintains such cooperation with Belarus and Armenia," Gerasimov said. "A similar structure will be set up in future within the framework of Russian-Kazakh cooperation."
He said combat training by both countries' armies was arranged with a view to such cooperation, and its effectiveness was regularly checked in the course of traditional exercises, Gerasimov said.
He recalled that the latest such exercise was held at Russia's test ranges Ashuluk and Kapustin Yar in August-September. Kazakh units operated in their own territory, he added.