SOCHI, September 14. /TASS/. Russian Armed Forces will return to their permanent home bases after they complete joint exercises with Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, while opening talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

"After the joint drills program is complete, the Russian forces will return to their permanent deployment locations," Putin said.

The Russian leader noted that drills, scheduled last year, kicked off on September 14 to last for several days.

"To a certain degree, it’s a routine for the military, it’s about the training of forces. I repeat it once more, to rule out any speculations: this is an event, planned and even announced last year," Putin said.

Putin added that Russia and Belarus will continue to cooperate on defense, adding that he speaks primarily about military industrial enterprises, where large cooperation is developing, "including in rather sensitive fields."