Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan (R) during their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Sept. 7, 2005.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised ties with China and urged greater joint efforts to boost bilateral relations during his meeting with visiting Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan on Wednesday in Sochi, Russia.

Russian-Chinese ties are at a historical high and the strategic partnership between the two countries is crucial to the relations, Putin told Cao, who arrived in the Black Sea resort earlier from Moscow, where he had met his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov and Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.

Links between the armed forces of the two countries conduce to boosting their defense capabilities, the Russian leader said, urging the two countries' military to work closely to benefit further growth of bilateral ties.

Putin praised the capabilities of both armed forces in last month's joint military exercises.

China and Russia held their first joint military exercises, code-named Peace Mission 2005, from Aug. 18-25. The one-week maneuvers, which started in Russia's Far East and later moved to east China's Shandong Peninsula, involved 10,000 troops from both countries.

Cao, for his part, said China and Russia, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, shoulder major responsibilities for safeguarding world peace and promoting common prosperity.

Cooperative ties between the two armed forces are expanding as the strategic partnership of the two countries continues to grow, the Chinese defense chief said.

The joint drills demonstrated a new level of mutual trust in political, military and security ties and have laid a firm foundation for deepening cooperation in national defense and security, Cao said. He pledged greater efforts to boost bilateral ties.

Cao arrived in Moscow Monday on a five-day visit to Russia.

Source: Xinhua