Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the military doctrine of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, according to the order published on the website of the official web portal of legal information.
"To approve the draft Military Doctrine of the Union State submitted by the government of the Russian Federation," the text of the order read.
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Earlier, the Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow and Minsk continue to develop the format of the Union State, noting that Belarus is "our real ally".
Touching upon plans to expand the integration of the two countries, Peskov said that they are "conceptually singled out in the documents pertaining to the legal framework of the Union State".
The Union State of Russia and Belarus was established in 1996 with the intention of providing greater political, economic, and social integration.
In 2009, Moscow and Minsk signed an agreement on the joint protection of the Russia-Belarus Union State's airspace and the creation of an integrated regional air defence network.