ST. PETERSBURG, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - The activity of contacts between the Russian Defense Ministry and U.S. Department of Defense has grown, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said at a press conference in St. Petersburg after talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"We've launched the talks and they will continue," Mr. Ivanov noted.
"We had over 20 bilateral contacts in 2003. Moreover, the Russian defense minister and U.S. defense secretary held 15 meetings over the last three years," Mr. Ivanov added.
The defense cooperation is being developed at the levels of top officials, general staffs and servicemen, he stressed.
On his part, Donald Rumsfeld reported that a number of issues of mutual interest were discussed at the talks.
Thinking about the evolution of our relations over the last 15 years, we see serious changes, he emphasized adding that our actions had become more predictable.
