An ongoing military exercise held in Tajikistan "has nothing to do with" the current political situation in Central Asia, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday.

The exercise, code-named "Borderline-2005," is jointly conducted by members of the Collective Security Pact Organization,a bloc affiliated to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),as scheduled last year, Ivanov told reporters at a drill ground in southern Tajikistan.

The five-day exercise started last Saturday, and will conclude on Thursday.

Ivanov, who arrived in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe on Tuesday for a two-day visit, refuted the allegation that the exercise is aimed at "repressing the revolution" in Central Asian countries.

The exercise, involving nearly 3,000 soldiers, more than 100 armored vehicles and about 10 airplanes, will improve the member countries' coordination capability in safeguarding state sovereignty and territorial integrity, he added.

Under a plan announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin last October during his visit to Tajikistan, the military exercise was to be held from last Friday to this Wednesday in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

But due to Kyrgyzstan's political turmoil, it was postponed by one day and is taking place only in Tajikistan.

Source: Xinhua