Training of the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces "Indestructible Brotherhood-2021" started near Kazan

A joint training with the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization "Indestructible Brotherhood-2021" started at the Kazan Higher Tank Command School training range on November 8, this year.

The training is conducted in accordance with the Plan of joint training of command and control bodies and formations of the assets of CSTO collective security system for 2021 under the charge of the commander of the troops of the Central Military District of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Alexander Lapin.

The main objectives of the training are to improve the practical skills of command officials of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) in the organization and management of subordinate troops in carrying out earmarked tasks, as well as improving the coordination of military units and subdivisions that are part of the CSTO CPF in the course of the peacekeeping operation.

In the course of practical actions, the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces began practicing actions at a roadblock, in a refugee camp, escorting humanitarian convoys, blockading a populated area, storming a building occupied by "militants," and releasing "hostages" and providing aid to the victims.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training, Commander of the Central Military District Alexander Lapin said: "To neutralize potential threats in the current environment, the cooperation and unity of Collective Security Treaty Organization member States, as well as a dynamic build-up of alliances in the military sphere, are in demand more than ever. We are required to be fully prepared at any moment to ensure security and maintain peace in our countries.

He also added that in the course of trainings "Indestructible Brotherhood-2021" military servicemen would gradually fulfil planning and implementation of peacekeeping operations taking into consideration the experience achieved in the Syrian Arab Republic and Nagornyi Karabakh by the soldiers of the Central Military District. "Colonel General Lapin noted: "For conducting joint actions from military contingents of six states in the shortest time we will create a powerful heterogeneous group of troops with a single command system, capable of operatively fulfilling the whole range of tasks for combating international terrorism, overcoming conflicts and protection of civilians”.

Speaking at the opening of the training, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov noted that in the current international situation all achievements of CSTO member States had to be reliably protected. "This work is the main component of the activities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. At the same time, mutual understanding of all military command bodies of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces is very important. I hope that during the training we will see improving the training and skills of commanders and soldiers and forming a new approach to the joint use of the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces. We also expect that the trainings will give us an opportunity to assess in general the plans to improve the security system of our countries," the head of the Republic of Tatarstan said.

Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov, the Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, addressing the participants of the training, noted that the possession of an effective tool for reconciliation of the conflicting parties and the restoration of normal life where conflict has occurred was an important component of the CSTO collective securitysystem .

He noted that at the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council on November 28, 2019 in Bishkek, the leaders of our states agreed to intensify joint efforts in the peacekeeping direction, confirming that the integration of the CSTO peacekeeping potential into the UN peacekeeping activities became a priority. "In order to implement this decision in 2021, the necessary changes were made in the documents of the Organization, providing for the formation of "consolidated peacekeeping contingents" for subsequent deployment to one of the UN peacekeeping missions," Anatoly Sidorov said.

The Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff stated that further improvement of the composition of the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces and their preparation for the fulfillment of earmarked tasks would be the most important direction of the development of the Organization's collective security system in the coming years.

The training involves military contingents of the Organization's member States – the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia and the Republic of Tajikistan, military police units, formations of internal affairs bodies (police), national guards, as well as authorized bodies in the field of emergency prevention and liquidation of consequences of emergencies, task forces of the CSTO Secretariat and the CSTO Joint Staff.

About 1.8 thousand people representing the armed forces and law enforcement bodies of the CSTO member countries and about 300 weapons, including eight helicopters Mi-8 and Mi-24 and two multifunctional fighter-bombers Su-34 of the Central Military District of Russia are taking part in the training.

The "Indestructible Brotherhood 2021" training will continue until November 12, 2021.

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The Joint Press Center of the "Indestructible Brotherhood 2021" training, Kazan