Belarus, Ukraine military to stage joint drills

Ukraine's Defense Minister Anatol Gritsenko and Belarus's Defense Minister Leanid Maltsau agreed at a meeting in Moscow to carry out a joint peace-keeping exercise. Ukraine's defense agency spokesman Andrei Lysenko is quoted by the UNIAN news agency as saying that the deal has been reached in principle. The working groups from the two countries are soon to determine the location and the dates of the drill.

He said that Belarus expressed interest in the peacekeeping experience of the Ukraine's Armed Forces.

Lysenko also said that the two sides areed about the overhaul and maintenance of aircraft and armoured equipment from the both countries at the overhaul factories in Belarus and Ukraine.

UNIAN