RIA Novosti, Russia
Aug 10 2004

CSTO WILL NOT JOIN PEACEKEEPING OPERATION IN SOUTH OSSETIA

MOSCOW, August 10 (RIA Novosti) – The Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO: Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan) adopted a concept for peacekeeping activities, CSTO
Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha told a press conference in
Moscow.

“We have adopted a concept for the CSTO’s peacekeeping activities,”
he said, “which stipulates the formation of peacekeeping potential by
common consent of CSTO member states.”

He said that the concept permitted peacekeeping contingents to be
trained according to a single system and for roles to be distributed.
“We plan to use this peacekeeping potential under the UN aegis in
CSTO territory and worldwide at the UN request,” he noted.

He stressed that the organization must not join the peacekeeping
operation in South Ossetia now. “Previous decisions must be
implemented to settle the conflict,” he added.

Mr. Bordyuzha said that the Georgian president’s statements were
“very contradictory.” “It is impossible to put them together to see
his [the Georgian president’s] position,” he said and added that
today, nobody wanted a repetition of when the Caucasus was hit by
Georgian-Abkhaz, Georgian-Ossetian, and Armenian-Azeri interethnic
conflicts ten years ago. “New politicians lack our experience but
they should understand that if a conflict is unleashed there is no
way back,” he emphasized.

Summing up the results of the recent exercises of the CSTO’s joint
rapid deployment forces in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the secretary
general said that his organization was concerned about the
developments in Afghanistan. “Presidential elections will be held in
Afghanistan on October 9 and,” he noted, “therefore, the remaining
Talibs and Al Qaeda terrorists have become active.”

“As for the situation in Central Asia, I am not concerned about it,”
he added.

Mr. Bordyuzha said that the strength of the joint rapid deployment
forces met the present-day tasks and that the forces were ready for
an operative response to regional developments.

According to him, the 11 battalions are perfectly trained and can
fulfill all tasks set by the CSTO leadership.

Presently, the CSTO command is ready to give a proper and rapid
response to the possible aggravation of the situation, Mr. Bordyuzha
said.

“We need 1.5-2 hours to make a decision on the use of force in case
of local aggravations,” he said. “Servicemen can be deployed in this
area in several hours.”

In his words, a plan of the joint rapid deployment forces’
development until 2010 has been worked out and stipulates common
equipment and armament for the armed forces and their transfer to the
contractual basis, the secretary general reported.

“In my opinion, the best way is to form a single brigade of rapid
deployment forces under single command. We hope to accomplish this
goal in the future,” he concluded.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress