Uzbekistan was readmitted to the Collective Security Treaty Organization in mid-August. Once a CSTO member, the Central Asian nation withdrew from the organization, seen by many as a counterbalance to growing NATO influence in the region, in 1999 along with Azerbaijan and Georgia.
"As soon as Uzbekistan has completed the legal procedure for joining the Collective Security Treaty Organization, our laws on supplies of Russian arms and military equipment at domestic prices will automatically extend to it," said Sergei Ivanov, who is also a deputy prime minister.
He said bilateral cooperation with Uzbekistan was advancing not only in combat training but also in the military-technical sphere, adding Uzbek servicemen had been studying at Russian colleges free of charge since last year.
The CSTO, set up in October 2002, comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
