DUSHANBE, June 8, 2009, Asia-Plus — Deputy Secretary of the Security Council, Akram Amonov, represented Tajikistan at the session of the Committee of the Security Council Secretaries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that was held in the Belarus capital Minsk on June 5.
According to the CSTO Secretariat press service, the meeting discussed trends of development of military and political situation within the CSTO area and neighboring countries as well as measures to address arising challenges and threats to the collective security. The session participants are also summing up the outcomes of special operations, dubbed Kanal (Channel, Nelegal (Illegal immigrant) and PROXI (operation to counter cyber crimes).
The plenary session considered a package of bills for formation and development of the CSTO rapid-reaction forces.
The Collective Security Council will meet in Moscow on June 14 and the CSTO heads of state will sign an agreement on formation of the CSTO collective rapid-reaction force, the press service said.
According to press release issued CSTO Secretariat, Russia will commit an airborne division and an air-assault brigade to the collective rapid-reaction force and Kazakhstan will commit an airborne brigade to the force. Other member nations of the organization, including Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be represented by a battalion each.
We will recall that the presidents of member nations of the CSTO gathered in Moscow on February 4 this year to sign a pact on creation of the joint rapid-reaction force. Uzbek President Islam Karimov signed the pact with reservations, agreeing to commit Uzbek forces not permanently but on a mission-to-mission basis.
The force is dedicated to defend member nations against foreign military aggression; perform special operations to counter terrorism, and drug trafficking; and help in times of natural disasters. The new rapid-reaction force will have a permanent joint command and a permanent joint base, whereas the units of the existing collective forces are under national command and are based separately.
The current system of collective security, which is based on the regional principle, includes three regional military groups: Russian-Belarus group (Eastern European group); Russian-Armenian group (Caucasian group); and Central Asian group.
