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Belarus may sign CSTO agreement on rapid response force on October 16

Belarus may sign on October 16 the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)’s agreement on the establishment of a collective rapid response force, a source at the CSTO Secretariat told BelaPAN.

On Tuesday, Viktar Huminski, chairman of the national security committee in the House of Representatives, told reporters that Alyaksandr Lukashenka had signed a presidential edict providing for Belarus’ accession to the agreement.

Nina Mazay, head of the Committee on International Affairs and National Security in the Council of the Republic, added that Belarus was ready to sign all documents required for the country’s participation in the establishment of the CSTO force.

“If, as it was said, the political decision has been taken, the signing ceremony may take place during military exercises in Kazakhstan on October 16,” said the source at the CSTO Secretariat.

The CSTO heads of state, defense ministers and security chiefs have been invited to arrive in Kazakhstan in mid-October to observe the third stage of joint military exercises, the source said.

CSTO leaders will also gather at a CIS summit to be held in Moldova’s Chisinau on October 9. Mr. Lukashenka may sign the agreement on the sidelines of the event, if he attends it.

The source, however, expressed doubt that the signing would take place at the CIS summit, noting that the event was of an “inappropriate format.”

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

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. Mr. Lukashenka boycotted the meeting in protest against Russia’s decision to ban the import of nearly all dairy products from Belarus earlier that month.