Xinhua General News Service
August 23, 2008 Saturday 11:40 AM EST

Russia-led defense bloc to hold regular drills: official

MOSCOW Aug. 23

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is to hold
large-scale military exercises every two years, including those in the
hot spot region of Caucasus, a senior official said on Saturday.

"The participants of a meeting of the CSTO defense ministers decided
to hold large-scale exercises every two years. Thus, the next
exercises will take place in 2010," Interfax news agency quoted CSTO
Deputy Secretary General Valery Semerikov as saying.

Those war games will be held with the situation in the region to be
taken into consideration, including the Caucasus, he said.

The CSTO defense ministers met on Thursday in the Armenian capital of
Yerevan to discuss the military and political situation in the region,
the military cooperation of the member states, as well as their
foreign and defense policies.

The Russia-led bloc has held four-stage military exercises in Russia
and the Caucasus state of Armenia in July and August, involving about
4,000 troops from Armenia, Russia and Tajikistan. Military staff from
the other CSTO member states also joined the exercises.

The seven-member organization was renamed in October 2002 on the basis
of the Collective Security Treaty, which was signed in Mary 1992
within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The
current members of the CSTO include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia and Uzbekistan.