The Russian defense ministry noted that following the meeting, the heads of delegations adopted a joint statement of the defense ministers of the ASEAN member states and dialogue partners
MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/. Deputy Defense Minister-Head of the Main Military-Political Department of the Russian Armed Forces Andrey Kartapolov outlined Russia's positions on security issues in the Asia-Pacific region (APR). According to the Russian defense Ministry, he spoke at the eighth meeting of the Meeting of the Heads of Defense Departments of the ASEAN member Countries and Dialogue Partners ("SMOA Plus"), which was held on Wednesday via videoconference.
"In his speech, Colonel-General Andrey Kartapolov brought Russian approaches to key security issues in the Asia-Pacific region," the report says.
The Russian defense ministry noted that following the meeting, the heads of delegations adopted a joint statement of the defense ministers of the ASEAN member states and dialogue partners aimed at further strengthening multilateral military cooperation.
About " SMOA Plus"
SMOA Plus is a mechanism of interaction between the defense departments of 10 countries of Southeast Asia (ASEAN) and the so - called dialogue partner states (Australia, India, China, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia, the United States, Japan), created in April 2010 at the initiative of Vietnam.
The aim of SMOA Plus is to provide favorable conditions for an open and constructive discussion of defense and security issues, to deepen trust and mutual understanding in the region, and to establish practical cooperation between the military of the participating countries.
The activities of specialists within the framework of SMOA Plus are carried out in seven expert working groups: on humanitarian demining, humanitarian assistance and emergency response, military medicine, maritime security, counter-terrorism, organization of peacekeeping operations, and cybersecurity.
