Exercises involving military personnel from states belonging to the CSTO have begun on the territory of Russia. This was reported by the Defense Ministry.
Representatives of the armed forces of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have already arrived in the Chelyabinsk Region.
As the ministry explained, the increase in the CSTO's combat capabilities is linked to the complex military-political situation in the world, the deterioration of international relations, and the fact that zones of instability are approaching the borders of the member states of the association.
The CSTO Joint Staff had previously clarified that the main task of the maneuvers is to practice actions within the framework of a joint operation to localize a hypothetical border conflict. The exercises are intended to improve the coordination of command bodies and troops, as well as to test their readiness to carry out the assigned tasks.
Colonel General Andrei Serdyukov stressed that all these measures are routine in nature and are not aimed against third countries.