MOSCOW, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday endorsed a plan for the Stability-2008 strategic exercises, the Interfax news agency reported.

    At a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, Medvedev asked the "preparedness for the active phase of the exercises and what stages of the exercises have been prepared."

    "We are fully prepared for the exercises," said the defense minister, who also presented a detailed report on the plan of the exercises to the president.

    Serdyukov told reporters on Friday the Stability-2008 drill will be held from Sept. 22 to Oct. 21. The scenario of the exercises was developed with the involvement of a broad range of Russian authorities and the Defense Ministry of Belarus.

    The exercises will practice the deployment of armed forces, the rollout of troops to localize and stop armed conflicts, terrorist operations, and to mitigate natural and man-made disasters.

    According to the press service of the Belarusian Defense Ministry, the purpose of the exercises is to examine the combat capability of the two countries' troops in order to ensure the security of the Russia-Belarus Union State.