Billed by its Russian , American , and Canadian participants as a first-of-its-kind exercise for the former Cold War adversaries , Vigilant Eagle was described by Russian Air Force Col. Alexander Vasilyev as a means to " develop procedures and bring the relationship between our countries closer together to unite our countries in the fight against terrorism ” . The groundwork for Vigilant Eagle was laid in a June 2003 meeting in St. Petersburg , Russia between President of the United States George W. Bush and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin . Coming less than two years after the September 11 attacks , and in the aftermath of an increase in Russian-American tensions resulting from the 2003 invasion of Iraq , the meeting saw progress in developing informal comity for bilateral cooperation in areas of anti-terrorism
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Exercise Vigilant Eagle