MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/. The CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force has begun preparations for the second phase of the Interaction 2025 and Echelon 2025 drills in Belarus, a spokesman for the CSTO drills joint press center told TASS.

The spokesman recalled that troops from the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are participating in the bloc’s drills Interaction 2025, Search 2025 and Echelon 2025 in Belarus.

"On September 1, the second phase of the Interaction 2025 and Echelon 2025 drills began at the Losvido firing range. The CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force will drill the skills of staging a joint operation to settle a crisis situation in a CSTO member state," the spokesman said.

Taking part in the drills are military contingents from Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. These include military units, Interior Ministry special forces, security agencies, emergency response agencies, and operational groups of the CSTO Joint Staff and Secretariat. "The drills involve more than 2,000 troops and 450 combat vehicles, including nine warplanes and helicopters and more than 70 drones of various types.

Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov visited the site.