CIS security chief in Kazakhstan urges “uniform standards” for armed forces

Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency, Almaty
12 May 04

Astana, 12 May: Service in the CSTO Collective Security Treaty
Organization; members are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan and Russia member states’ armed forces should be based
on uniform standards, the secretary-general of the CSTO, Nikolay
Bordyuzha, told journalists following the meeting with Kazakh President
Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana on 12 May.

Speaking about military cooperation within the CSTO, Bordyuzha
stressed that it was necessary to perfect the system of Collective
Rapid Deployment Forces CRDF in Central Asia. In particular, he
clarified, this is about the need to introduce uniform standards
for the armed forces of the CSTO member states, including military
equipment, and boost military-economic cooperation.

“We should perfect the CRDF in Central Asia as well as regional forces
existing today. We are talking about the necessity to introduce uniform
standards, we are talking about giving an impetus to military-technical
cooperation,” Bordyuzha said.

Passage omitted: background on the CSTO