Russia, UK to discuss prospects of military cooperation

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu will meet Wednesday with British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond to discuss the areas of potential military cooperation between the two countries, the Russian news agency Novosti reported Wednesday, quoting the Russian Defense Ministry. The sides will discuss the current state and prospects of Russian-British military cooperation and exchange views on the military-political situation in some parts of the world, a ministry s spokesman said on Tuesday. The meeting is part of the agenda of a new strategic dialogue in a 2+2 format involving Russian foreign and defense ministers and their British counterparts. Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to launch this initiative last year following a gradual improvement in bilateral relations which have soured in a series of bitter rows over various sticky issues, including the murder in Lodon of Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko. Russian military analyst Igor Korotchenko told RIA Novosti that the talks between Shoigu and Hammond will most likely focus on the European missile shield, the situation in Afghanistan after NATO withdrawal in 2014, the civil wars in Syria and Mali, and anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast.