Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 24, 2004, Friday

KNOW YOUR FRIENDS AS WELL AS YOUR ENEMIES[]

SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, September 21, 2004, p. 5

by Viktor Myasnikov

CIS summit in Astana resolved to reorganize structures of the
Commonwealth. CIS Security Council for dealing with terrorism will be
established. “Globalization and appearance of new threats force
countries of the Commonwealth to pool effort in dealing with pressing
international problems,” President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev
said.

There are two parallel collective military structures in the
Commonwealth, nowadays. One of them purely military. The CIS Council
of Defense Ministers was formed 12 years ago for the purpose of
working out a common military policy. It includes a permanent
secretariat, CIS Headquarters for Coordination of Military
Cooperation, and a number of councils and committees.

The second structure is counter-terrorist. The Organization of the
CIS Collective Security Treaty includes 6 countries of the
Commonwealth – Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia,
and Belarus. The Organization has the Rapid Response Collective
Forces that include several battalions of mobile troops, a helicopter
squadron, and frontal aviation.

Bona fide military cooperation has been developing among these six
countries only because they face a common enemy – international
terrorism. Joint exercises are run within the framework of the
Organization of the CIS Collective Security Treaty, and the
Counter-Terrorism Center performs the duties of the coordinating
body.

CIS military structures formed in the early 1990’s for the purpose of
construction of a common military organization found themselves in
the background. They never performed their task because CIS countries
do not agree on what constitutes a military threat. Working out a
common position is difficult indeed when some countries aspire for
membership in NATO and others regard its eastward expansion as a
potential threat. Add here the border dispute between Russia and
Ukraine and the latent conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In
short, any coordinated military policy is simply out of the question.
It means that withering away of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers
and related military structures was but a question of time.

There is no love lost between the Organization of the CIS Collective
Security Treaty and CIS military structures. Sources who know what
they are talking about ascribe it to the pitiful financial standing
of the latter. Establishment of the counter-terrorist CIS Security
Council will automatically lead to abolition of the ineffective CIS
Council of Defense Ministers with all its headquarters and
committees.

The CIS United Antiaircraft Defense System is the only structure to
be spared by the forthcoming military-administrative reforms. No
country of the Commonwealth including Russia can hope to close its
skies entirely on its own, and cooperation in this sphere has
proceeded at a fast rate. CIS leaders allocated 2.3 billion rubles
for the CIS United Antiaircraft Defense System in 2005 – against 800
million in 2004 (almost tripling the sum, in fact).

The Organization of the CIS Collective Security Treaty and its Fast
Response Collective Forces are a response to the threat of terrorism.
Military cooperation between its members will continue while the
threat exists. Moreover, the view of international terrorism as an
external threat guarantees mutual defense of members of the
Organization from any external aggression. That is why the
Organization includes Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan (the
countries directly involved in the war on international terrorism),
Kazakhstan (whose geo-strategic location may make it a target too),
and Armenia (the country that does not want a renewal of a shooting
war with Azerbaijan). And Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus
needs defense against actions of the opposition that may spark a
“humanitarian intervention” of the Yugoslavian make.

Uzbekistan, the country seriously affected by terrorism, steers clear
of all military blocs. On the other hand, it may decide to join the
counter-terrorist CIS SC.

Ukraine is another potential candidate. It is not facing any threats
from the West or the East at this point. Separatism of the Crimean
Tatars is under control. All of that makes it a political issue for
President Leonid Kuchma, not a military. And an economic issue as
well – the war on money laundering and drain of capitals is of
paramount importance for Ukraine. On the other hand, just like
Moldova or Turkmenistan, Ukraine does not participate in the CIS
Council of Defense Ministers.

Implementation of Nazarbayev’s suggestion will certainly improve
coordination of efforts in the war on terrorism. As things stand,
commanders of CIS border troops have their own committee, defense
ministers their own, secret services and foreign ministers have
structures of their own too. Pulling them together is a must. As for
the attempts to set up at least some semblance of a common military
organization or even to establish cooperation between armies, all of
that is finished. Time to forget it.

Translated by A. Ignatkin