PARIS, October 31 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian plane have transported about 20,000 tonnes of cargoes to Afghanistan since 2011, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said.
“Our French colleagues could see the reliability of the Russian carrier in work. We think that joint work in this area has a good future,” Serdyukov said after a meeting of the Russian-French Security Cooperation Council in Paris on Wednesday, October 31.
He appeared to be pleased by the results of the talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, during which they discussed prospects for military and military-technical cooperation between the two countries.
“We can see impressive dynamics in this respect,” Serdyukov said. “While in 2010 only 42 events were held with France, there are about 69 of them this year.”
He noted the successful development of relations between the Russian and French navies which have held three joint manoeuvres this year. “Our ships are on a constant patrol mission in the Gulf of Aden,” the minister said.
The sides also discussed pressing global and regional security issues and ways to make the work of the Russia-NATO Council more effective.
“Russia reaffirmed its readiness for constructive dialogue with colleagues both at the bilateral level and in the Russia-NATO Council,” Serdyukov said.