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BREST: Russia is ready to render military-technical assistance to member-states of a post-Soviet security organization if they need it, the Russian defense minister said Wednesday.
Sergei Ivanov, who is also a Russian deputy prime minister, said that on Thursday, during the council of defense ministers of the Organization of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Belarus, the ministers will discuss military-technical assistance within the organization.
“First of all, we will discuss Russia's military-technical assistance to CSTO members in need,” Ivanov said.
CSTO members – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – use the organization as a platform to fight drug trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime, and have pledged to provide immediate military assistance to one another in the event of an attack.
It has a Collective Rapid Reaction Force deployed in Central Asia and continues to build up its military forces.
The minister said that the assistance will be provided in the form “of direct deliveries of arms and military hardware, as well as of free-of-charge training of military personnel in Russian military institutes.”
He also added that an agreement on the proposed Russian-Belarus unified air defense system will be signed by the end of this year.
“I have no doubts that the agreement on the formation of a unified air defense system within the borders of Russia and Belarus will be signed by the end of the year,” Ivanov said.
The unified air defense system is in line with plans to create a Union State that the two former Soviet allies have been working on since 1997, which envisions a common economic, customs, and political space.
Although talks on the Union State stalled recently over a host of issues, including gas prices, military cooperation between the countries seems to be gaining momentum.
Russia and Belarus signed an agreement on deliveries of S-300 (SA-10 Grumble) anti-aircraft missile systems in September 2005.
Russia delivered two systems in April, and they have already been deployed near Brest, on the border with Poland.
By December 1, another two S-300 systems will be put on combat duty near Grodno.
