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Moscow-led bloc’s security systems remain on high alert, Russian defense chief says

"We routinely check up on that, holding drills on various training grounds across CSTO member states," Sergey Shoigu noted

MINSK, November 23. /TASS/. Security systems in Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) countries, including air defenses, remain on high alert, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said.

"They are on high alert. We continue to do everything to strengthen the air defense systems we share with other CSTO member states. We are reinforcing them particularly based on the experience gained during the special military operation," the Russian defense chief told reporters.

"We routinely check up on that, holding drills on various training grounds across CSTO member states," Shoigu added.

Russia’s defense minister and Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev are part of the delegation that is accompanying President Vladimir Putin to a CSTO summit in Minsk.

According to the Kremlin, in 2023, the joint training of agencies managing and developing the forces and means of the CSTO’s collective security system was aimed at improving mechanisms to make and implement joint decisions in order to contain armed conflicts, stabilize the situation and maintain peace and security in the organization’s zone of responsibility. The organization has held several drills since the beginning of the year, including the Interaction exercise and the Poisk special intelligence exercise.