Russia: Kavkaz-2020 military drills start, featuring Iranian and Chinese forces

Russia has launched the Kavkaz (Caucasus) 2020 joint military drills with neighboring countries in its Southern Military District and in the Black and Caspian Seas.   The joint military exercises, which started today September 21 and will run through September 26 involve about 80,000 personnel, including officers of the Russian Emergencies Ministry and the Russian Guard, as well as up troops from Iran, Armenia, Belarus, China, Myanmar and Pakistan. In addition, more representatives from the armed forces of Iran, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Sri Lanka will participate as observers of the military drills. About 12,900 military personnel from the participating…