Closer military cooperation between France and Russia

The defence ministers of France and Russia have signed an agreement aimed at encouraging closer military cooperation.

The agreement, which was signed during a visit to France by the Russian defence minister, Igor Sergeyev, includes regular exchanges of high-level representatives and increased cooperation in aerospace projects.

Mr Sergeyev praised his French counterpart, Alain Richard, for allowing him to visit a secret base of the French nuclear fleet, whose missiles used to be targetted on Moscow.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service