Informal CIS Summit Taking Place In Moscow

U.S. soldiers march during a parade rehearsal on Red Square.

MOSCOW -- Leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) meet for an informal summit today in the Russian capital, Moscow.

The leaders are in Moscow to attend festivities on May 9 to mark the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II, or the Great Patriotic War, as it is known in Russia.

Air-defense systems, helicopters, and missiles will all be on show, as will more than 10,000 Russian soldiers and -- for the first time -- troops from wartime allies the United States, France, Britain, and Poland.

compiled from agency reports