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==New Russian-Led Force ‘Ready To Repel Aggression’ ==
Sargis Harutyunyan

Հրապարակված է՝ 18.09.2012
The secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) said on Tuesday that its recently established rapid reaction force is already capable of repelling an armed aggression against Armenia and other members of the Russian-led security pact.

“The Collective Operational Reaction Forces (CORF) is one of the main components that can effectively react to any challenges involving the use of force,” said Nikolay Bordyuzha. “Since those forces comprise army units that means a localization of armed conflicts, that means a quick closure of borders in case the situation escalates.”

Nikolay Bordyuzha spoke to journalists at the Marshal Bagramian training ground 40 kilometers west of Yerevan where about 2,000 CORF soldiers representing Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Armenia held military exercises for the fourth consecutive day.

“We are talking about a collective security system,” Bordyuzha said. “It is built upon on a collective potential. That collective potential is now in Armenia and jointly accomplishing tasks. We are thereby learning to act together in case the situation becomes quite tense.”

The Russian official was satisfied with the course of the exercises that will draw to a close on Wednesday in the presence of President Serzh Sarkisian and other senior Armenian official. Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov is also expected to attend the final and most important part of the drills.

The CORF forces on Monday simulated a joint operation against “irregular armed groups” that invaded a CSTO member state. The CSTO command praised the “high degree of coordination” among them.

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==  CSTO command-staff drill begins in Armenia  ==

MOSCOW, July 22, 2012 (Xinhua) -- Member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) kicked off a joint command-staff drill in Armenia Tuesday, Russian news agencies reported.

About 4,000 troops from Armenia, Russia and Tajikistan participated in the four-stage military exercise, coded Rubezh-2008. Other CSTO members will be represented by military staff from respective defense ministries.

The first stage of the exercise was staged in Armenia and the second will be held in Russia at the CSTO joint headquarters.

At the third stage, CSTO nations will conduct a military operation to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an "attacked" country, and the fourth stage will see a defense operation, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

"The aim of the joint Rubezh-2008 command-staff exercise is to help develop the military component of the CSTO," Artur Bagdasaryan, secretary of Armenia's National Security Council, was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying at the official opening of the exercise.

"The exercise allows our countries to strengthen direct ties and increase the overall level of cooperation," said Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament.

"We will see that the members of the bloc can meet any threat to collective security with an appropriate response," he added.

The CSTO is a security group comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. 

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