YEKATERINBURG, October 5. /TASS/. More than 2,700 servicemen of Russia’s Central Military District and more than 500 military vehicles will be involved in three joint drills of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to be held in Tajikistan in October, Lieutenant-General Alexander Lapin, commander of the district’s troops, said on Tuesday.
CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas earlier announced several large-scale military exercises near the Tajik-Afghan border.
"We will conduct three joint drills with military contingents of the CSTO member states in Tajikistan, near the border with Afghanistan, in October. More than 2,700 servicemen and more than 500 military vehicles will be involved. The Russian contingent will consist mostly of troops of the 201st military base," Lapin said.
According to the press service of the Central Military District, the drills will be held at two training grounds in Tajikistan - Kharb-Maidon and Momirak - and will involve military contingents from six CSTO member nations.
The Collective Security Treaty was signed in Tashkent in 1992 and the Collective Security Treaty Organization was set up in 2002. Its members are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, which holds the presidency of the organization in 2020-2021.