MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. Forces from the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) Rubezh-2025 drills are heading to Kyrgyzstan, Vladislav Shchegrikovich, spokesman for the CSTO Joint Staff, told TASS.
"Participants in the Rubezh-2025 command and staff exercise involving the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region are regrouping to move to the Kyrgyz Republic. The troops of the CSTO (Collective Forces) from Kazakhstan, Russia and Tajikistan are on their way to the areas where the drills are planned to take place," he pointed out.
Shchegrikovich added that the Rubezh-2025 command and staff drills would be held at the Edelweiss training center and on Lake Issyk Kul, with the goal being to practice preparing for and conducting combat operations by the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region aimed at eliminating illegal armed groups invading a CSTO member state.
According to the spokesman, CSTO Joint Staff Head Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov emphasized at a briefing ahead of the joint drills that the activity was a routine one and was not directed against third countries as its goal was to improve the coherence of command units and troops, as well as maintain the preparedness of forces to perform missions focused on ensuring collective security.
Shchegrikovich pointed out that the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region, formed in 2021 based on a decision by the CSTO Collective Security Council, were made up of permanent readiness units and formations, equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and military hardware. "The main objectives of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region are to counter outside military threats and conduct joint counterterrorism operations," he stressed.