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Troops from Russia, Laos kick off first ever joint drills

The drills that will run on December 10-19 involve over 500 troops

© Marina Lystseva/TASS

MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/. The first ever joint Russian-Laotian military exercise Laros-2019 has kicked off at the Ban Peng training ground in Laos, the press office of Russia’s Eastern Military District reported on Tuesday.

Overall, the drills that will run on December 10-19 involve over 500 troops. The personnel of a motorized infantry large unit from the Eastern Military District are representing Russia in the drills.

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"The servicemen of the Eastern Military District who have undergone a three-day adaptation to the tropical climate after strong December frosts in the Trans-Baikal Region have switched to the first stage of the joint military exercise," the press office said in a statement.

For the period of the drills, the Laos army has provided its T-72MS tanks, BRDM-2MS armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicles, PKTM machine-guns and AKM assault rifles to the Russian personnel, the statement says.

The troops participating in the drills will exchange their experience of using combat hardware in wooded, swampy, and mountainous terrain and practice the tactic of joint operations in the jungles, according to the statement.

"One of the basic aims of the joint exercise is to expand bilateral military cooperation, including in the fight against international terrorism," the press office stressed.

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