DUSHANBE
, June 23, Asia-Plus – On Thursday June 22, a meeting of the council of the defense ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was held in
Minsk
.
According to information fro the Tajik Defense Ministry (MoD), the CSTO defense ministers met in a narrow format to consider military and political situation in the CSTO zone and prospects for the development of military cooperation between its member states.
During the meeting it as noted that the Collective Security Treaty Organization should be able to provide a quick and adequate response to all kinds of threats, not only military.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov delegated powers of chairman of the CSTO Council of Defense Minister to his
Belarus
counterpart Colonel General Leonid Maltsev.
We will recall that Nikolai Bordyuzha, the CSTO Secretary General, said in May that the CSTO, founded in 2002, would form its own peacekeeping forces, collective forces to tackle emergency situations, and a number of auxiliary bodies to combat extremism and illegal migration.
The CSTO was founded in 2002 by
Armenia
,
Belarus
,
Kazakhstan
,
Kyrgyzstan
,
Russia
, and
Tajikistan
to ensure peace, preserve the territorial integrity of member countries, coordinate activities in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime, and provide immediate military assistance to a CSTO member in the event of a military threat. The Organization’s Collective Rapid Deployment Force in
Central Asia
includes some 4,000 military personnel, nearly 60 tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs), some 10 guns and mortars, 10 jetfighters and 14 helicopters.
