DUSHANBE, April 13, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- The chiefs of general staffs of armed forces of the CIS nations gathered in Dushanbe on April 13 for a meeting.

Presided over by the chief of Russia''s General Staff, Army General Nikolai Makarov, the meeting focused on problems of ensuring security and addressing threats, providing stable and dynamic development of the CIS, Ramil Nadyrov, the chief of the General Staff  of Armed Forces of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus in an interview.

According to him, the meeting participants also considered topical issues related to creation and improvement of unified defense systems and outlined priorities of military cooperation within the CIS area for the period until 2015.

The meeting also projected a number of joint events for armed forces of the CIS nations.

The meeting participants stressed that all decisions adopted at the meeting were aimed at promoting further expansion of multilateral military cooperation within the CIS area.

The meeting participants included delegations from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine.

The CIS, or Commonwealth of Independent States, is a loose association of former Soviet republics. It consists of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.  Georgia pulled out of the organization in 2009.

Seven member nations are part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).