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CSTO secretary general expects Belarus to sign rapid response force agreement soon

Belarus will sign soon the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)’s agreement on the establishment of a collective rapid response force, RIA Novosti reported with reference to CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha.

He noted that Minsk had approved the agreement before it had been signed by the leaders of five of the bloc’s seven member states in June.

“I think that Belarus’ failure to sign the accord is only a technical problem and it will be resolved in the near future,” the official was quoted as saying.

Commenting on last week’s informal CSTO summit in Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Bordyuzha said that Minsk had never called the expedience of the bloc’s collective rapid response force into question and “does not view the project as harmful.”

The CSTO comprises Armenia, Belarus, Russia and four Central Asian nations: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, BelaPAN said.

The Collective Rapid Response Force (CRRF) is expected to be stationed in Russia and be under a single command. Personnel of Russia’s 98th Airborne Division and 31st Assault Landing Brigade may form the core of the Force.

The CRRF would be used for repelling “military aggression,” conducting operations to combat international terrorism and extremism, transnational organized crime and drug trafficking, dealing with the aftermath of natural and man-made disasters, and ensuring the CSTO’s efficient participation in the maintenance of international peace and security.

All CSTO member states except Belarus and Uzbekistan signed the agreement at a summit held in Moscow on June 14. Alyaksandr Lukashenka boycotted the meeting in protest against Russia’s decision to ban the import of nearly all dairy products from Belarus earlier that month.