ARMENIA HAILS CSTO’S DECISION TO CREATE COLLECTIVE RAPID RESPONSE FORCES
Interfax
Feb 5 2009
Russia
The decision by the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
to form Collective Rapid Response Forces reflects the strategic
priorities of both Armenia and organization’s other member states,
said Maj. Gen. Aik Kotanjian, Director of the Institute of National
and Strategic Studies.
"The decision creates a strong political, legal and military basis
for collective countering of a possible aggression against any CSTO
member," Kotanjian was quoted as saying by the Armenian Defense
Ministry.
Forming a real mechanism of countering aggression is an additional
guarantee of deterring "certain individuals cherishing hopes for a
military resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the analyst
said.
Kotanjian recalled the lessons of the August events in the Caucasus and
said that such actions "could result in the violation of international
security both on the regional and extra-regional scale."
"By forming a military component, the CSTO will also be able to
raise its efficiency in fighting against international terrorism,
transnational crime, drug trafficking, and natural and man-caused
disasters," Kotanjian said.
The CSTO decision to create collective rapid response forces shows the
development dynamic of the organization that uses the best experience,
including NATO’s, he added.