Representatives of the US and Russian general staffs signed a military cooperation agreement for 2014 in Brussels last week. According to the document, the two states are expected to hold joint war games.
Vestnik Kavkaza discussed the possibility of holding such drills in the Caucasus with chief editor of Air and Space Defence magazine Mikhail Khodaryonok, member of the Moscow City Duma Sergey Goncharov, Professor of the Moscow State Institute of Foreign Affairs Sergey Oznobishev and General Sergey Kanchukov.
According to Khodoryonok, one should not rule out such a possibility, but the absence of all the necessary facilities in region shows that such an idea won't probably be suggested. Such drills may be held in the region, but rather in future than right now, he says. Sergey Goncharov agrees that the war games are unlikely to be held in the region.
According to the lawmaker, the situation in the region is unstable and no one is interested in causing further unrest.Another view was expressed by Professor Oznobishev. According to the scholar, such drills would show that despite all difficulties in bilateral relations, the two states are ready to cooperate even in such a troubled region as the Caucasus. It would be a good example of successfull bilateral cooperation, he says.
General Kanchukov agrees that such war games may be held in the Caucasus and that they could be mutually beneficial. "We have several training grounds there, so it's quite possible to hold the drills in the region," he says.
