MOSCOW, September 5 (Itar-Tass) —— The question of equipping the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force with modern weaponry, military and special equipment was the main topic on the agenda of Monday’s session of the Permanent Council of the organization in Moscow.
“The Permanent Council considered drafts of the interstate program for equipping the CSTO rapid deployment collective force with modern weapons, military and special equipment and special gear and draft provisions for the tasks and the functioning of the secret control of the forces and means of the collective security organization,” the CSTO press-service said. “A decision was made to send documents to the CSTO member-states for internal coordination.”
The meeting was chaired by the representative of Belarus, Oleg Ivanov. CSTO Secretary-General Nikolai Bordyuzha was in attendance.
The CSTO comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The RRF was formed in 2009 and numbers 17,000 officers and men from the armed forces and special units and two thousand crack troops. The force is intended to address military and border conflicts, as well as carry out special operations to combat international terrorism, extremism, transnational organized crime, drug trafficking and elimiate the effects of emergencies.