Bishkek, September 11, 2024 (TDI): Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is organizing military exercises for its member countries, Kyrgystan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Tajikistan, in Kyrgyzstan’s Issky-Kul region this week.
CSTO stated the joint exercises involve over five thousand people and 900 units of military equipment, with only Armenia not represented.
Pakistan, Algeria, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan are also participating in the events as observer and their representatives have arrived the Edelweiss ground.
Representatives of the UN Secretariat, the SCO Secretariat, the CIS Executive Committee, and the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center will also participate as observer.
“The tasks of the exercise include improving mechanisms for making and implementing decisions on the use of forces and means, as well as increasing coherence between the armies of the allied countries and the interoperability of military formations in preparing and conducting joint operations,” said Andrei Serdyukov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff.
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The exercises combine various training components. The maneuvers include special exercises with intelligence forces, and logistics exercises.
The Interaction-2024 command-staff exercise is aimed at preparing for a joint operation to resolve a potential armed conflict.
The CSTO stated that one of the exercise’s priorities this year is to improve the deployment of the collective forces, including managing the transit of military contingents through allied countries.
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Meanwhile, on the occasion of opening the exercise, Lieutenant General Baktybek Bekbolotov, Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Defense said, “In our dynamically changing world, security is becoming paramount, and this requires new approaches, effective coordination, and clear solutions… Our countries have become direct participants in the beginning reshuffle of forces in the world.”
According to Bekbolotov, the main threats to the countries of Central Asia are terrorism, separatism, and extremism, as well as the arrival of radical groups from the Middle East to the region’s borders.
He said global threats cannot be tackled by a state rather regional approach and organizational level efforts are needed.
