Russia's Putin observes joint military exercise with Belarus

Russian President Vladimir Putin flew to the Nizhny Novgorod region on Tuesday to observe joint Russian-Belarusian military drills, state television reported. Wearing military attire, Putin listened to briefings from Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and his deputy. The president said the "Zapad" exercises were intended to rehearse elements of defending the "union state" of Russia and Belarus.