The Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) held a joint security games workshop at its headquarters in Moscow to improve its member states’ practical skills in forming and deploying collective rapid response peacekeeping forces, including assessing situations and managing personnel.
The workshop, “Preparation of proposals on the formation and deployment of forces and means of collective security: Collective Rapid Reaction Force and Collective Peacekeeping Forces in the regions of collective security,” was attended by representatives of the Defence Ministries, general staff, law enforcement agencies and special services of the CSTO member states, as well as the CSTO Secretariat and Joint Staff.
Participants tested the work procedures of an CSTO Crisis Reaction Centre that is being created now as well as its interaction with CSTO member states’ national centres for defence management.
The workshop simulated a major crisis situation in hypothetical CSTO member states of Gumriya and Turan where tensions conditioned by political and economic conditions sharply escalated. This led to the intensification of internal political struggle and armed clashes in bordering regions and growing interference by extremists and militants who received training in Taliban and ISIS training camps.
Participants in the workshop practiced assessing crisis situations, preparing joint actions in order to prevent negative development of situations, developing a common understanding in the organisation and managing CSTO forces.
During the workshop, possible actions to prevent the escalation of crises were worked out by participants. Diplomatic and economic measures to protect the national interests of CSTO member states and their joint implementation with international organisations were developed first. Second was ensuring stable political situations in CSTO member states and adopting measures to reduce the threats to constitutional order and territorial integrity, as well as preventing activities of radical, nationalist, extremist forces and terrorist organisations.
Finally, complex operations by CSTO collective forces against illegal armed groups and militant terrorist organisations to counter various types of transnational organised crime were reviewed.
Attention was also given to questions of the provision of military, military-technical and logistical assistance.
The CSTO is an intergovernmental security organisation established by a treaty signed in Tashkent in May 1992. Currently it includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
