Anatoly Sidorov: “All elements of the collective security system will be deployed in the CSTO area of responsibility”

 

On February 14, Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of Staff, held a briefing where he summed up the results of joint training of command bodies and formations of forces and assets of the CSTO collective security system in 2022, outlined the tasks for 2023 and answered journalists’ questions.

Anatoly Sidorov said that CSTO joint exercises in 2023 was being conducted in the format of operational and strategic exercise Brotherhood of War, which was the highest form of joint training in the Organization. All elements of the collective security system will be deployed in different regions of the CSTO area of responsibility.

“Joint training of command bodies and formations of forces and assets of the collective security system will focus on peacekeeping,” Colonel General Sidorov stressed. 

As part of joint training, a set of events will be held, such as a joint business game headed by the CSTO Secretary General. In the course of the game, the CSTO Crisis Response Centre in cooperation with the task forces of the relevant ministries and agencies of the Member States will scrutinize the factors influencing the state of collective security, forecast the development of the military, political and strategic situation in the regions of collective security and determine the possibility of crisis situations and mechanisms influencing them. 

According to Anatoly Sidorov, the Republic of Belarus will host joint and special exercisescombining the training of various components of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces): Vzaimodeistvie 2023, Poisk 2023 and Echelon 2023. A special exercise with the joint formation of the NBC protection and medical support Baryer 2023 is also planned.

“At the final stage, the Kyrgyz Republic will host a joint exercise with the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces Unbreakable Brotherhood 2023 to practice post-conflict settlement in a crisis zone through a peacekeeping operation,” Anatoly Sidorov said.

The Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff noted the continuing efforts to improve interaction and invitation of third-party states to participate in joint exercises.

Summing up the results of 2022, Anatoly Sidorovreported that the International Mine Action Centre of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation located in Nakhabino township, Moscow oblast, joined the system of base training and research organizations of the CSTO that train de-mining experts. 

The status of a CSTO base training and research organization has been given to 12 military educational institutions which provide training in the following areas: combined arms, air defence, missile forces and artillery, military air defence, communications, logistics, information security, electronic warfare, personnel training for the CSTO peacekeeping forces, medical and pharmaceutical professions and training of personnel ensuring national security and state defence capabilities of the Organization’s Member States.

In addition, seven specialized research organizations and military education institutions have been given the status of base research organizations that carry out scientific, theoretical and practical study of the creation, improvement, training and application of the forces and assets of the CSTO collective security system and conduct research on air defence, missile defence, logistics, medical support, electronic warfare, military and technical cooperation of the Organization and the development and deployment of the CSTO aviation component.

In the academic year of 2022/2023, 59 military education institutions of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation provided a total of 1,871 quota training places across 827 study programmes. In total, about 24,000 servicemen have been trained in the military educational institutions of the Organization’s Member States throughout the years of cooperation.

In conclusion, Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov noted that this year was an anniversary year, withApril 28, 2023 marking 20 years since the establishment of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.