DUSHANBE, October 21, 2009, Asia-Plus — Experts from member nations o the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) gather in Moscow on October 22-23 for consultations on making amendments to documents regulating formation and functioning of forces and means of the collective security system, according to the CSTO Secretariat.
Amendments made to the documents concern, first of all, specifics of formation, use, and management of new Collective Operation Reaction Forces (COFR) created within the framework of the Organization.
Experts will discuss draft documents on the procedure of formation and functioning of the collective security system forces and means, their status as well as making collective decisions on use of the mentioned forces. They are also scheduled to consider issues related to the provision of the COFR with modern and compatible armament, military and special materiel.
The meeting participants include specialists from interested ministries and institutions of all member nations of the CSTO.
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 joined the organization in 2006.
We will recall that the first three-state military exercise for the COFR was held this year. The initial stage of the military exercise marking the first official testing of COFR was held in Moscow on August 26-28. The first stage involved command-staff planning linked to the military-political aspects of coalition interaction. The second stage was held in Belarus in late September and the third stage was held in Kazakhstan in October. Military units joined the second and third stages.
