The 21st meeting of the Military Committee for the development of military cooperation of the CSTO member states was held today via videoconferencing, the organizations’ press office reports.
The meeting was attended by the heads of general staffs of the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, as well as the CSTO Deputy Secretary General Takhir Khairulloyev.
The meeting has discussed challenges and threats to military security in the CSTO regions of collective security and measures to counter them.
Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, made a progress report on the development of the CSTO peacekeeping capabilities, including their integration into the UN peacekeeping activities. In the course of the report it was noted that incorporation of the Organization's peacekeeping potential into the UN peacekeeping activities was one of the most important tasks stipulated in the CSTO Collective Security Strategy for the period till 2025. "In order to improve the procedure for connecting CSTO Peacekeeping Forces to the UN peacekeeping operations, heads of the CSTO member states signed a Protocol on Amendments to the Agreement on Peacekeeping Activities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization on September 16, 2021. Decisions of the CSTO CFM, the CSTO CMD, and the CSTO CSSC on "Amendments to the Recommendations on Preparation and Conduct of Peacekeeping Operations by the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces" approved the model structure of a peacekeeping battalion of the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces, this structure meets the UN requirements," the Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff said.
As a result of the discussion, the CSTO Joint Staff has been tasked with drawing up, together with the defense ministries of the CSTO member states, a list of training grounds and training centers allocated by the CSTO member states to support the formation, training and cohesion of the CSTO collective Peacekeeping Forces. Together with the Order of Zhukov Combined Arms Academy of the Russian Federation Armed Forces, which is the basic training and methodological organization for training personnel of CSTO Peacekeeping Forces, to develop documents on conditions and procedures for admission to training courses for military observers, officers of the UN headquarters and officers assigned to the Joint Command of the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces.
Having considered information on improving the organization and provision of international flights of state (military) aviation of the CSTO member states, the Military Committee was also instructed to prepare proposals for amendments to the relevant agreements on international flights.
The next meeting of the Military Committee is scheduled for the first half of 2023 in the Republic of Belarus.