BERLIN, Mar. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Germany and Russia pledged on Wednesday to further increase cooperation in the defense area including booster rocket for the launching of military satellites.

    A Russian-German commission in charge of overseeing the defensecooperation will meet in April, German Defense Minister Peter Struck said after meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov in Berlin.

    Shipbuilding and booster rockets to carry military satellites into the space orbit will be the focus of the cooperation, said Struck.

    Ivanov expressed his dissatisfaction over the warplane patrols of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization over the Baltic republics.

    "We do not see why they fly over this particular region," he said. "It is a waste of European taxpayers' money so far as we areconcerned." Enditem