DUSHANBE, September 15, 2012, Asia-Plus — The exercise for the Rapid Reaction Force of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) kicked off at the Marshal Baghramayan training ground in Armenia on September 15.
According the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD)’s official website, the exercise that will last till September 19 has involved military units and special operations groups of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, as well as representatives from the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) and international observers from the United Nations, the OSCE and the CIS, totaling some 2,000 people.
The International Committee of the Red Cross is reportedly taking part in the exercise in line with the protocol of intentions signed by the CSTO Secretariat and the ICRC in 2009 and the joint action plan for 2012-2014. The ICRC is making make sure the international humanitarian law and other international regulations are observed during the exercise. The ICRC together with the command of the collective rapid reaction forces will hold briefings on the principles of the international humanitarian law for participants of the exercise.
The purpose of the CSTO joint exercise, dubbed Interaction 2012, is to rehearse coordination and interaction in repulsing a terror threat and mitigating effects of the emergency situation.
Major-General Kamo Kochunts is in overall command of the ongoing war game, the sources said.
The regional security organization was initially formed in 1992 for a five-year period by the members of the CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) — Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which were joined by Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Belarus the following year. A 1994 treaty “reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force,” and prevented signatories from joining any “other military alliances or other groups of states” directed against members states. The CST was then extended for another five-year term in April 1999, and was signed by the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. In October 2002, the group was renamed as the CSTO.
Uzbekistan became a full participant in the CSTO on June 23, 2006; and its membership was formally ratified by the Uzbek parliament on March 28, 2008. Uzbekistan, however, suspended its membership in the organization on June 28, 2012.
The CSTO is currently an observer organization at the United Nations General Assembly.
The ICRC, established in 1863, works worldwide to provide humanitarian help for people affected by conflict and armed violence and to promote the laws that protect victims of war. An independent and neutral organization, its mandate stems essentially from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, it employs some 12,000 people in 80 countries; it is financed mainly by voluntary donations from governments and from national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.
