28 April marks the Day of the CSTO Joint Staff. It should be recalled that on 28 April 2003, in Dushanbe, the Collective Security Council, guided by the need to establish a military staff body responsible for implementing the military component of the Collective Security Treaty, adopted the Decision “On the Establishment of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.”
On 27 April 2026, within the framework of the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Contours of a New Architecture of Collective Security: Current Issues of Information and Analytical Partnership within the CSTO,” held at MGIMO University of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, a round table entitled “Eurasian Analytical Platform: New Approaches in a New Geopolitical Reality” took place. During the event, Head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the CSTO Secretariat Yuriy Shuvalov delivered a presentation on “The Eurasian Analytical Network: A New Cognitive Architecture of Collective Security.”
In the Republic of Belarus, the active phase of the CSTO trainings “Interaction-2023”, “Search-2023”, “Echelon-2023” and “Barrier-2023” has been completed
06.09.2023
The active phase of the "Interaction-2023", "Search-2023", "Echelon-2023" and "Barrier-2023" trainings, which were being held within the framework of the second stage of the CSTO joint operational-strategic training "Combat Brotherhood-2023", has been completed today on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.
The coordinated actions of all components of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces were demonstrated during the joint operation.
According to the training legend, the simulated enemy has established control over part of the territory in the border area, a number of settlements have been seized, railway communication has been disrupted as a result of sabotage, and terrorist attacks have been attempted.
As part of the joint operation to stabilize the situation, the CSTO CRRF group practiced combat training tasks to block and defeat an illegal armed group, liberate the seized territory, restore the situation at the border, detain and disarm the militants in cooperation with the territorial bodies of the Border Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Assault and maneuver armored groups, cover, ambush, fire support and other groups were formed to carry out the tasks.
During the trainings, air and artillery strikes against concentrations of manpower and equipment, the destruction of columns of armored vehicles, the use of strike drones and combating enemy drones were practiced. In order to conduct a mine ambush to prevent the simulated enemy from leaving the blockaded area, a group of parachutists with cargo was dropped from an extremely low altitude. During the trainings, attention was paid to handling engineering munitions, as well as providing medical assistance to the wounded and their subsequent evacuation using armored vehicles and helicopters.
Major General Viktor Gulevich, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus, Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, Major General Erlis Terdikbaev, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic, delegation of the Coordination Meeting of the Chairmen of the Committees (Commissions) on Defense and Security of the Parliaments of the CSTO member states under the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as well as representatives of the military and diplomatic corps took part in the final stage and the closing ceremony of the trainings.
Colonel-General Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, speaking to the training participants, said: "Once again the servicemen of the Organization's member states have demonstrated high combat training and coherence. The need to jointly address the complex tasks of ensuring military security in the current politico-military situation requires professionalism on the part of the personnel, training and cooperation of officers in line with modern requirements, and the ability to apply modern methods of combat operations.
The qualities demonstrated by all participants in the trainings made it possible to develop a joint action plan, make informed decisions and achieve the set objectives.
On behalf of the multinational military contingent, I thank the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, the leadership of the Brest region and the city of Brest for the high level of organization and support for the trainings, hospitality and welcome. I hope that each of us will take away from here a piece of the warmth and kindness of Belarus.
I thank the training participants for their hard work. Victory goes to the army that has better trained officers and soldiers, higher spirit and stronger will to win”.
The Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff also wished the participants of the trainings an orderly return to their places of deployment and further success in their combat training. He noted that the “Combat Brotherhood-2023” operational-strategic training was continuing and expressed confidence that the participants in the next stage, to be held in the Kyrgyz Republic, would honorably take up the baton, fulfil all the tasks set for them and achieve all the goals they had set for themselves.
Major General Viktor Gulevich, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus, speaking at the ceremony, said: "The training has clearly demonstrated the high coherence of the military management bodies. The troops participating in the training have got good practice and demonstrated readiness to respond to any threats, no matter where they come from. Dear comrades, I congratulate you on the successful completion of the active phase of the training. I express my appreciation and gratitude for the exemplary fulfilment of the assigned tasks, for your high training and professional skills. I am confident that during your stay in the hospitable Belarusian land, you not only improved your skills and coherence, but also received positive emotions from the dialogue with colleagues from brotherly countries and familiarization with the memorable places of our country. I wish you further success in your military work to reliably ensure the security of our states and the Collective Security Treaty Organization as a whole".
In the territory of the Republic of Belarus, as part of the CSTO joint operational-strategic training "Combat Brotherhood-2023", under the leadership of Major-General Andrei Matiyevich, a joint training with the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces "Interaction-2023", a special training with intelligence forces and means "Search-2023", a special training with logistical forces and means "Echelon-2023", and a special training with the joint formation of the CSTO NBC protection and medical support "Barrier-2023" are being conducted.
They involve mobile formations and military units of permanent readiness of the armed forces of the CSTO member states equipped with modern and compatible armaments, special forces formations from among the special units of the internal affairs (police), security, State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus and special services, as well as the authorized bodies responsible for preventing and dealing with the consequences of emergency situations, and operational teams of the CSTO Joint Staff and the CSTO Secretariat In all, more than 2,500 servicemen and more than 500 units of weapons, military and special equipment were involved.
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Joint Press Centre for the CSTO trainings
The Republic of Belarus, Brestsky training ground
