All news

Moscow-led bloc’s chief to attend joint drills in Tajikistan near Afghan border

Stanislav Zas will watch the operations of the CSTO forces to conduct a joint operation for containing a border armed conflict on the territory of a member state

MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Stanislav Zas will fly into Tajikistan on October 22 to take part in the active phase of the bloc’s joint drills near the Afghan border on Saturday, CSTO Spokesman Vladimir Zainetdinov announced on Thursday.

"The secretary general will arrive at the Kharbmaidon practice range located 20 km from the Tajik-Afghan border on October 23. The training ground will be the place for the final stage of the Interaction 2021 drills of the CSTO Collective Operational Response Forces, the Search 2021 exercise of the bloc’s reconnaissance forces and capabilities and the Echelon 2021 maneuvers of the organization’s logistic support units," the spokesman said.

The CSTO chief’s visit will last through October 24. The Moscow-led bloc’s secretary general will watch the operations of the CSTO forces to conduct a joint operation for containing a border armed conflict on the territory of a member state.

The Echelon and Search special drills and the Interaction exercise of the CSTO Collective Operational Response Forces are running under the direction of Russian Central Military District Commander Colonel General Alexander Lapin at the Kharbmaidon and Momirak practice ranges in Tajikistan near the Afghan border.

The joint maneuvers that will last through October 23 have brought together 4,000 troops from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and over 500 items of military hardware.