CSTO: News and Developments

Post-Soviet bloc to eliminate terror bases in Operation Mercenary

Bloc's Acting Secretary General Valery Semerikov recalled that last year CSTO experts in cooperation with intelligence service and law enforcement authorities analyzed the activity of int'l terrorists

MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. The member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) plan to carry out Operation Mercenary, a counter-terrorist operation aimed at neutralizing terrorist resource bases on the territory of the CSTO member states, CSTO Acting Secretary General Valery Semerikov told TASS in an interview on Wednesday.

"The plan of comprehensive operational-preventive activities code-named Operation Mercenary to shut down channels for recruitment and entry/departure for citizens from CSTO countries for participation in the activity of international terrorist organizations was prepared and coordinated. The resource bases of terrorists in the CSTO’s responsibility zone will be also neutralized," he said.

In 2018, CSTO experts in cooperation with intelligence service and law enforcement authorities analyzed the activity of international terrorists, Semerikov said. Operation Mercenary was prepared based on this analysis. "The plan for the operation was prepared already, and the corresponding coordinating centers were created in the states. Everything is ready for the operation that will involve all CSTO states," he noted, adding that the period and stages of the operation will not be disclosed so far.

The CSTO forwarded the initiative to carry out Operation Mercenary in 2017. In 2018, the planning of this joint anti-terrorist operation was carried out. It will be aimed at fighting with members of Islamic State, a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia, who are trying to move from Syria to the territory of the states located in the CSTO’s zone of responsibility.
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Belarusian security chief nominated to lead post-Soviet security bloc

The decision to appoint Stanislav Zas will be taken in autumn during the session of the CSTO Heads of State Council

BISHKEK, May 22. /TASS/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Foreign Ministers Council has nominated Belarusian Security Secretary Stanislav Zas for the position of CSTO secretary general, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Chingiz Aidarbekov stated on Wednesday during the council’s session.

"In accordance with the proposal, Zas will assume the position of CSTO secretary general from January 1, 2020," the minister said.

"The decision to appoint Zas will be taken in autumn during the session of the CSTO Heads of State Council," the organization told TASS.

Top diplomats of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are taking part in the CSTO Foreign Ministers Council held in Bishkek on Wednesday. The Russian delegation is headed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.


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http://tass.com/defense/1059577

The beginning of the CSTO Interaction-2019 forces exercises in the Nizhny Novgorod Region

Post-Soviet security bloc to train peacekeepers in Russia or Kazakhstan

The CSTO secretary general noted that the organization would make a decision on choosing the basic center for training peacekeeping units under the UN standards until the end of the year

MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) plans to train its peacekeeping forces in Russia or Kazakhstan, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas told TASS on Wednesday.

"We are setting the task to create a single base of training peacekeeping forces as a whole, and, in particular, training peacekeepers for the UN. Various options are being considered as to where this process will take place. We already have peacekeepers’ training centers in Russia and Kazakhstan. In this regard, military specialists must have their say," he said.

The CSTO secretary general also noted that the organization would make a decision on choosing the basic center for training peacekeeping units under the UN standards until the end of the year.

"We are setting ourselves the goal of completing all legal amendments in order to start practical steps [for peacekeeping activity] as soon as next year," he said.

The CSTO is currently finalizing its basic documents so that the organization’s peacekeeping forces can implement their missions under the UN aegis, he said.

https://tass.com/defense/1160955

Post-Soviet security bloc to hold Rubezh-2021 drills in Kyrgyzstan

https://tass.com/defense/1292417

CSTO approves creation of joint radiation, chemical and biological protection force

The joint force is to be deployed in the territory of one of the CSTO member-states

https://tass.com/defense/1309961

Moscow-led security bloc to host Rubezh-2021 military exercises in Kyrgyzstan

https://tass.com/defense/1330489

No plans to deploy troops to Afghanistan — post-Soviet security bloc chief

https://tass.com/world/1332141

CSTO exercises "Rubezh-2021" started in Kyrgyzstan

In total, about 500 servicemen and more than 120 units of weapons and military equipment are taking part in the exercises from the Russian Armed Forces.

EKATERINBURG, September 7. / TASS /. The servicemen have begun joint exercises with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces (CRDF) of the CSTO Rubezh-2021 at the Edelweiss training ground in Kyrgyzstan. This is stated in a message released on Tuesday by the press service of the Central Military District (CVD).

"The joint exercise with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces (CRDF) of the Central Asian region of collective security of the CSTO" Rubezh-2021 "started at the Edelweiss training ground in the Kyrgyz Republic. Servicemen of the armed forces of the Republics of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and also the operational groups of the Joint Staff and the CSTO Secretariat, "the message says.

During the exercise, the CRSF contingents will conduct joint planning and preparation for a military operation. During the practical stage, the issues of blocking and destroying combat groups and detachments of illegal armed formations that have invaded the territory of a CSTO member state will be worked out.

The bulk of the Russian military contingent in the exercises are servicemen of the Tuvan mountain motorized rifle brigade of the Central Military District, as well as the personnel of the united Russian military base stationed in Kyrgyzstan. In total, about 500 military personnel and more than 120 units of weapons and military equipment, including six units of aviation equipment, take part from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Su-25 attack aircraft and Mi-8 transport and combat helicopters of the joint Russian military base Kant will provide support to ground units and conduct aerial reconnaissance in the area of ​​the exercise.

https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/12316225

Moscow-led bloc to engage over 5,000 troops in Combat Brotherhood drills in Tajikistan

The post-Soviet security bloc’s drills will bring together over 700 items of armament, military and special hardware

MOSCOW, October 14. /TASS/. Over 5,000 troops will participate in the Combat Brotherhood 2021 drills of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Tajikistan, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov announced on Thursday.

"The participants in the joint operational and strategic exercise Combat Brotherhood that will accomplish assignments as part of the CSTO (Collective Forces’) Troops will total over 5,000 personnel," the general said.

The post-Soviet security bloc’s drills will bring together over 700 items of armament, military and special hardware, including more than 650 motor and armored vehicles, up to 20 aircraft, in particular, Su-24MR and Su-25 planes, over 20 Mi-8MTV and Mi-24 helicopters and also 15 unmanned aerial vehicles of various modifications and designation, he specified.

The CSTO will also hold Echelon 2021 special drills with its logistic support forces on the territory of Tajikistan in the Central Asian region to practice the tasks of troop provision in preparing and carrying out a joint operation and the Poisk (Search) special maneuvers with its reconnaissance forces and capabilities to focus on organizing and conducting reconnaissance in preparing and holding a joint operation, the general said.

The Moscow-led bloc will also hold Interaction 2021 drills with its Collective Operational Response Forces to practice preparing and carrying out a joint operation to contain a border armed conflict, he added.

Each of the drills that will be held as part of the Combat Brotherhood exercise will engage military contingents from all of the six CSTO member states. They will also involve special operations forces, the ministries and agencies concerned that helps practice a broad range of tasks in the course of drills and map out the ways of further improving the joint training of the CSTO command centers and collective forces, the general said.

Preparations for the drills

The CSTO member states are currently relocating their military contingents to the areas of the drills on the territory of Tajikistan. Military transport planes from the armed forces of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia will perform over 35 flights. Some troops will conduct marches to the territory of Tajikistan or will be transported by railways.

On October 18-23, the CSTO joint forces will practice assignments at the Momirak and Kharbmaidon training grounds to prepare and conduct a joint operation for containing a border armed conflict in the Central Asian collective security region related to the attempts by militants of international terrorist organizations to infiltrate the territory of the bloc’s states.

Scenarios of the drills

The CSTO’s Combat Brotherhood 2021 operational and strategic maneuvers will focus on potential scenarios of developments at the Tajik-Afghan border, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff Colonel General Sidorov said.

"In working out the scenarios of the drills and the procedure of carrying them out, we had to take potential developments at the Tajik-Afghan border into account," the general stressed.

The chief of the CSTO Joint Staff said he was confident that the bloc’s collective forces that would take the worst-case scenario into account in the course of the drills would not face it in a real situation at the border of the two countries.

https://tass.com/defense/1349731

Post-Soviet security block kicks off drills in Tajikistan near Afghan border

MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. Over 4,000 troops from the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) kicked off Echelon, Search and Interaction special drills in Tajikistan near the Afghan border, the post-Soviet security bloc announced on its website on Monday.

"A ceremony took place at the Kharbmaidon practice range of the armed forces of the Republic of Tajikistan on October 18 to open the Echelon 2021 and Search 2021 special drills and the Interaction 2021 joint maneuvers as part of the CSTO’s Combat Brotherhood 2021 exercise," the statement says.

https://tass.com/defense/1350801

CSTO’s Unbreakable Brotherhood exercise to begin in Tatarstan Monday

Taking part in the exercise will be more than 1,700 officers and men from the CSTO armies and law enforcement agencies

YEKATERINBURG, November 8. /TASS/. A joint exercise with the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Force, Unbreakable Brotherhood-2021 is to begin at the proving ground of the Kazan Higher Tank School on Monday. The exercise will last from November 8 to November 12, with contingents from Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia taking part, the Central Military Region’s press-office said.

The participating peacekeeping personnel from the Samara Region and communication, special purpose, radio-electronic warfare, radiological, chemical and biological defense forces and military police will demonstrate their post-conflict settlement skills, the Central Military Region’s chief, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Lapin, the commander of the exercise, is quoted as saying.

The drills will be held in two stages. First, the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Force will practice planning and peace-keeping activities in the field, such as joint actions to set up and protect a refugee camp, escort humanitarian convoys and guard roadblocks. The exercise will end with a tactical operation to seal off a community seized by illegal armed groups and eliminate them.

Taking part in the exercise will be more than 1,700 officers and men from the CSTO armies and law enforcement agencies. The troops will use more than 300 pieces of military equipment, including eight helicopters Mi-8 and Mi-24.

https://tass.com/defense/1358455

Personnel of the exercises of the intelligence units of the CSTO "Poisk-2021" in Tajikistan

Joint actions of the assault groups of Russia and Belarus in the exercise Indestructible Brotherhood - 2021

Advance Russian units of CSTO collective forces already implement tasks in Kazakhstan

https://tass.com/defense/1384419

I wouldn't be surprised if USA was fully backing an uprising in Kazakhstan. They have now lost their raping of uranium in Afghanistan, so where better to rape uranium than Kazakhstan. Also causing chaos in a country neighboring Russia and a strong Russian ally.

The question is where will USA try next, Belarus and Kazakhstan were failures, and no doubt also done to cause distractions and pressure.

Am hoping that Uzbekistan re-joins and Iran also joins CSTO. There was rumours years ago that Iran Could become a member. That would most likely piss of USA and Israel.

look who is saying that.


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#UPDATE "I think one lesson in recent history is that once Russians are in your house, it's sometimes very difficult to get them to leave," US Secretary of State Blinken warns Kazakhstan after it invited in troops to quell unrest

Old English saying "That is like the kettle calling the pot black" from days gone past with cast iron appliances... both were soon bunt black.

franco wrote:Old English saying "That is like the kettle calling the pot black" from days gone past with cast iron appliances... both were soon bunt black.

Said the representative of the country with military units in 800 locations around the world. I can't think of anywhere, except perhaps Grenada and Vietnam that the US has pulled out of.

The CSTO has certainly proved its worth.

Loading of servicemen of the Russian CSTO peacekeeping contingent at the Ivanovo-Severny airfield

d_taddei2 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if USA was fully backing an uprising in Kazakhstan. They have now lost their raping of uranium in Afghanistan, so where better to rape uranium than Kazakhstan. Also causing chaos in a country neighboring Russia and a strong Russian ally.

I doubt it was because of that. Most of that uranium is being enriched in Russia and imported into the US. Russia could just block sales of enriched uranium. And facilities to enrich uranium take many years to build. The US has closed down most of its enrichment capacity years ago and has been stalling building new capacity. Instead they outsource from Russia, which has plenty of capacity, and Europe, which has already allocated all of theirs.

I think this was more to hit Chinese oil & gas transit and the BRI since the China-Europe railway passes through Kazakhstan. It would also have the other effect of putting another pressure point on Russia's border. But I think this was seriously misguided since Russia can easily cordon off Kazakhstan if they want to. The current government also has a large enough power base this coup won't work.

lancelot wrote:

d_taddei2 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if USA was fully backing an uprising in Kazakhstan. They have now lost their raping of uranium in Afghanistan, so where better to rape uranium than Kazakhstan. Also causing chaos in a country neighboring Russia and a strong Russian ally.

I doubt it was because of that. Most of that uranium is being enriched in Russia and imported into the US. Russia could just block sales of enriched uranium. And facilities to enrich uranium take many years to build. The US has closed down most of its enrichment capacity years ago and has been stalling building new capacity. Instead they outsource from Russia, which has plenty of capacity, and Europe, which has already allocated all of theirs.

I think this was more to hit Chinese oil & gas transit and the BRI since the China-Europe railway passes through Kazakhstan. It would also have the other effect of putting another pressure point on Russia's border. But I think this was seriously misguided since Russia can easily cordon off Kazakhstan if they want to. The current government also has a large enough power base this coup won't work.

It's no secret that USA was raping uranium in Afghanistan and they did so because it's lucrative and they were getting it free pretty much, and so after losing that source of revenue (uranium is expensive even before enrichment) and by removing uranium production in Kazakhstan so they can sell for themselves. Let's not forget Kazakhstan has the largest reserve's of uranium, produces 40% of the world's uranium output and sells it to U.S. and other Western countries, as well as China. So how do u screw up China getting uranium? Take over the seller. And if you become the new seller u are no longer having to pay for it. Just for comparison Russia produces around 5-6% of world's uranium that's around 3,000 ton, while Kazakhstan produces 40% the largest in the world by a long stretch, of around 22,000 ton. Canada is the second highest at 7,000 ton 13-14% so u can see just how much Kazakhstan actually produces.  

The world nuclear association states 139 new nuclear plants are in the planning stage, and 326 are in the proposal stage, that's over the next two decades. China alone are planning on building 50 by 2030. (500% increase) China will consume one third of the world's uranium market so what better way to screw up China's plans than to remove it's supplier of uranium, replace the seller as yourself (USA). The USA is planning on building 31 new plants and what better way to reduce costs by getting uranium for pretty much free.

On another note USA doesn't need to buy Russian uranium and especially with tensions high they may fear Russia may stop supply (13%). A breakdown of roughly what US imports.
Nuclear energy companies in the U.S. didn’t import uranium from China in 2018. Instead, they imported from a variety of countries in short- and long-term contracts: Canada (24%), Kazakhstan (20%), Australia (18%), Russia (13%), Uzbekistan (6%), and Namibia (5%).  so second highest import is Kazakhstan, so if USA controlled that and got it pretty much for free, and even if it lost Russian import it would simply bring the additional 13% from USA controlled Kazakhstan, in fact it would probably rape even more and reduce its import from other countries and get it all pretty much free.

I rest my case.

George1 wrote:Loading of servicemen of the Russian CSTO peacekeeping contingent at the Ivanovo-Severny airfield

There must be 20+ Il-76 on that flightline.

d_taddei2 wrote:
On another note USA doesn't need to buy Russian uranium and especially with tensions high they may fear Russia may stop supply (13%). A breakdown of roughly what US imports.
Nuclear energy companies in the U.S. didn’t import uranium from China in 2018. Instead, they imported from a variety of countries in short- and long-term contracts: Canada (24%), Kazakhstan (20%), Australia (18%), Russia (13%), Uzbekistan (6%), and Namibia (5%).  so second highest import is Kazakhstan, so if USA controlled that and got it pretty much for free, and even if it lost Russian import it would simply bring the additional 13% from USA controlled Kazakhstan, in fact it would probably rape even more and reduce its import from other countries and get it all pretty much free.

I rest my case.

Did the US import Afghanistani uranium under a different label to hide the theft?

Putin to take part in CSTO Collective Security Council meeting on January 10 - Kremlin

The meeting will discuss the situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan and measures to normalize it

MOSCOW, January 9./TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in an extraordinary online meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council on January 10, chaired by Armenia, the Kremlin press service reported on Sunday.

"The meeting will discuss the situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan and measures to normalize it," the press service specified.

Earlier in the day, the press service of the Armenian prime minister reported that a virtual meeting of the CSTO countries’ leaders was scheduled for Monday. Later, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin planned to take part in the video conference on January 10.

Vladimir Zainetdinov, spokesperson for the CSTO post-Soviet security bloc, said the heads of state would take part in the meeting on Monday, while Kyrgyzstan would be represented by the prime minister.

https://tass.com/russia/1385237