JOINT FIGHT AGAINST MODERN THREATS AND CHALLENGES TOPS CSTO AGENDA – BORDYUZHA

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
February 20, 2007 Tuesday 1:51 PM MSK

Further steps to consolidate political efforts by the region’s
countries to counter today’s threats and challenges dominate the
agenda of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, CSTO General
Secretary Nikolai Bordyuzha told an international conference in Moscow
on Tuesday.

"Since the CSTO has all the necessary mechanisms and a record of
cooperation, it is in a position to play a leading role within the CIS
in the fight against terrorism, political extremism and separatism,
as well as the drug threat and illegal immigration," he said.

The CSTO will promote its contacts with other regional organizations,
including the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center, the Eurasian Economic
Community, the Central Asian Cooperation Organization, and the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, Bordyuzha said.

"Practical steps are being taken to compile a single list of terrorist
and extremist organizations that pose a threat to the security of
all of the CSTO member-nations," he said.

"As far as the military component is concerned, focus has been placed
on forming and maintaining the functioning of forces and means of the
collective security system, as well as their operational and combat
training," he added.

He said that within the framework of the coalition forces development
plan of the organization a coalition (regional) group of forces
will be tailored for oeprations in the Central Asian collective
security zone. Moreover, the implementation of earlier decisions in
the domain of joint defense and security will continue, primarily as
far as the deployment of joint air defense, communications, control,
reconnaissance and surveillance and other defense-oriented networks
is concerned.

"Much attention will also be given to interregional liaison of East
European (Russian-Belarussian) and Caucasian (Russian-Armenian)

coalition forces," he said.

According to him, combat planning, reequipment and overall support
of collective forces will also be scrutinized. Here standard training
procedures will be at the groundwork, as well as commonized hardware,
which will be achieved by single logistical approaches.

Bordyuzha also said that the preparations are in full swing for the
Rubezh 2007 (Border 2007) CSTO exercises in Tajikistan.

"The preparations for the signing of the agreement on joint
cadre training are also nearing end. The agreement will be a major
factor that will have a cementing effect as far as further military
integration is concerned," he said.