A meeting of the CSTO Military Committee was held in Moscow under the leadership of the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov. Despite the difficult epidemiological situation, all the chiefs of the General Staffs of the countries participating in the Treaty took part in this event. By the way, last year, the coronavirus pandemic did not allow the members of the Military Committee to meet, so two meetings were held via videoconference.
Gerasimov noted that the face-to-face meeting will be a good sign for the activation of military cooperation within the CSTO, and its results will serve to further deepen cooperation between the defense departments.
The CSTO High Command first discussed the challenges and threats to military security. "The general staffs of the armed forces of the CSTO countries have confirmed their common understanding of the range of threats to military security and the need for coordinated joint actions to neutralize them," Gerasimov stressed. The chiefs of the General Staff agreed to continue this work, and discussed the organization of joint operational and combat training events.
The main outcome of the meeting was an agreement to hold four joint exercises this year, which will be held on the territory of Tajikistan and Russia.
According to Gerasimov, Tajikistan will host joint maneuvers of the Search-2021 scouts and the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces - Interaction-2021. In addition, the training will be conducted by the rear services as part of the exercise"Echelon-2021". In Russia, in turn, a major joint exercise with the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces "Unbreakable Brotherhood - 2021"is planned.
In addition, according to Gerasimov, at the meeting, the chiefs of the General Staff determined the directions for further work on improving the military component of the CSTO. First of all, they relate to the work of the CSTO Crisis Response Center. This center last year switched to normal operation.
Now it is on round-the-clock duty. The center's working groups are also engaged in analyzing the foreign policy situation, ensuring information security, and developing priority measures to reduce tension.
The meeting also discussed the creation of a joint unit for radiation, chemical and biological protection and medical support under the auspices of the CSTO.
In addition, the generals evaluated the activities of training organizations for the training of Peacekeeping forces and information security specialists.
Alexander Stepanov
