Russia and India will hold joint military exercises in April and September this year, a senior Russian defense official said on Saturday.

Air, navy and ground troops will join anti-terrorist trainings in Russia's territory, Anatoly Mazurkevich, head of the international military cooperation department of the Russian Defense Ministry, was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

Mazurkevich said both sides have got ready to hold naval exercises at Russian Pacific Fleet bases in April.

Preparations have already begun for the exercises Indra 2007 planned for mid-September, which will be held at a training ground of Airborne Troops Division 76 in the Pskov Region near the northwest border of Russia.

A Russian battalion and an Indian company will participate in the training with firing practice and troops landing, Mazurkevich said, adding that a number of interesting types of Russian and Indian weapons will be used in the training.

According to Mazurkevich, the training will be an exchange of experience, as well as serious joint work to fight terrorism, but will not be a show.

The head of the Russian Defense Ministry's information and public relations department, Sergei Rybakov, said that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov will discuss the ground work for joint exercises with his Indian counterpart during his visit to India next week.

Source: Xinhua