Russian parliament ratifies accord on military drills with China

The Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, has ratified an agreement on Russia-China joint military exercises, paving the way for a drill set in July, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday.

The accord, inked in Beijing and Moscow in 2005, instituted border-crossing procedures for Chinese and Russian military units, and regulated issues related to logistics, compensation for any damages as well as protection and exchange of classified information.

The accord formed the legal basis for developing bilateral ties in terms of "adequate responses by the parties to new challenges and threats to international security," Interfax quoted Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mikhail Margelov as saying.

Chinese troops will enter Russian territory for the joint drill slated for July. Last year, the two militaries conducted such real-troops exercises in China.

Source: Xinhua