Xinhua, China
Aug 24 2008
Official: Russia-led defense bloc to hold regular drills
2008-08-23 20:33:50
MOSCOW, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — 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.
Editor: Bi Mingxin