Vladimir Shamanov: Participation of CSTO parliamentarians in exercises of collective forces is an important part of military and political situation monitoring

Vladimir Shamanov, Chairman of the Coordination Council of Chairpersons of Committees (Commissions) on Defence and Security of the Parliaments of the CSTO Member States under the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and Chairman of the Defence Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, spoke about the work of the Coordination Council in 2021, military and political situation monitoring and the prospects for parliamentary cooperation within the CSTO:
“In accordance with the five-year Action Plan on Approximation and Harmonization of National Legislation of the CSTO Member States and the CSTO PA work plan for the year, as well as at the invitation of the heads of the parliaments of the Organization’s States, representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly travel to the CSTO regions of collective security to conduct parliamentary monitoring of the military and political situation.
Within the framework of cooperation between the parliamentary structures of the CSTO States in the area of defence and security, in the spring of 2021 we held a field meeting of the Coordination Council in Moscow at the premises of the CSTO Joint Staff.
Issues of regional security in the Caucasus and Eastern Europe regions of the CSTO area of responsibility were discussed.”
Andranik Kocharyan, Chairman of the Standing Commission on Defence and Security of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, reported on the military and political situation in the Caucasus region of CSTO’s collective security.
An intelligence officer of the Staff of the Western Military District of the Russian Defence Ministry briefed the participants on the status of military security in the Eastern European region; the Head of the Federal Security Service Research Centre gave a presentation about the development trends in the Eastern European region.
The matters of ensuring protection against man-made and natural disasters and the status of anti-crime efforts were also discussed.
The participants also discussed one of the most important areas of parliamentary monitoring of the military and political situation in the CSTO collective security regions, namely the participation of parliamentarians as observers in joint military exercises of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces). During their visits, parliamentarians meet with leaders and personnel of the exercises, get acquainted with the latest models of weapons, military equipment and special equipment for special units, visit military bases, military units and divisions and military enterprises.
This makes it possible to promptly identify the needs for improvement of regulatory and legal support of military security.
In 2021, the CSTO parliamentarians are planning to observe the exercise with the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force Vzaimodeistviye-2021 (“Interaction 2021”), scheduled to be held in the Republic of Tajikistan on October 18–23, 2021 in coordination with the Parliament of the Republic of Tajikistan; and the exercise Unbreakable Brotherhood 2021 with the CSTO Peacekeeping Force (to be held in the Russian Federation, Kazan, on November 8–12, 2021 in coordination with the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation).
In October 2021, in coordination with the CSTO Secretary General, members of the Coordination Council of Chairpersons of Committees (Commissions) on Defence and Security of the Parliaments of the CSTO Member States under the CSTO PA Council may observe the exercises in the Republic of Tajikistan:
– Poisk-2021 (“Search 2021”) with intelligence forces;
– Echelon 2021 with logistical support function of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces).
“I would like to stress that following the instructions given to us by our heads of state and our parliaments and based on today’s assessment of events, the role of parliamentarians in the issues of stabilizing the international situation, in the intensification and optimization of cooperation is noticeably increasing.”
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