BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The Caspian Sea nations will soon form a united group of forces "to combat real threats and challenges," Russia's defense minister has said.
On an official visit to Azerbaijan, Sergei Ivanov said Monday that the group would protect the Caspian countries from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, poaching and piracy and would ensure reliable energy supplies, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Defense ministries, border guards and special services would be involved in the work of the new group, Ivanov said.
Ivanov, who is also Russia's deputy prime minister, said officials from the foreign ministries of Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Russia would meet soon in Moscow to discuss the plan.
The group would resemble the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group, or BLACKSEAFOR, which was founded in 2004 and comprises Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Ukraine and Russia, Ivanov said.
