DUSHANBE, May 13, 2015, Asia-Plus – No military exercises are expected to be conducted for the Collective Operational Reaction Force (CORF) created within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Tajikistan in the near future.
Meanwhile, an official source at the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan (MoD) says limited mobile groups from the CSTO member nations are arriving in Tajikistan within the framework of a sudden inspection of the readiness of the CORF servicemen to fulfill their missions that was announced on May 12.
“The CORF contingents are exercising regrouping by air to the venue of the war game – to the territory of Tajikistan, where, in accordance with the plan, they will participate in the implementation of training tasks,” the source said.
The CORF is a Russian initiative intended to transform and expand by three to four times the existing CSTO rapid reaction dimension into a permanently ready, combat-capable force designed for intervention in crisis situations on the territory of CSTO member states.
On February 4, 2009, an agreement to create the Collective Operational Reaction Force (CORF) was reached was by five (Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan) of the seven CSTO members. The force is intended to be used to repulse military aggression, conduct anti-terrorist operations, fight transnational crime and drug trafficking, and neutralize the effects of natural disasters. Belarus and Uzbekistan initially refrained from signing on to the agreement; Belarus because of a trade dispute with Russia, and Uzbekistan due to general concerns. Belarus signed the agreement in October 2009.
The CSTO now groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Russia. Uzbekistan suspended its membership in the CSTO in June 2012, saying the organization ignores Uzbekistan and does not consider its views. The CSTO is currently an observer organization at the United Nations General Assembly.
We will recall that speaking at a press conference in Dushanbe, CSTO Secretary-General Nikolai Bordyuzha said on March 13, 2015 that the CSTO military forces could be at the Tajik-Afghan border within three days if a conflict broke out there.
