Russia & neighbors to set up rapid reaction force

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-05-2009 14:45

Russia has boosted its security alliance with six ex-Soviet republics by forming a joint rapid reaction force.

Russia, Armenia, Belarus and four Central Asian nations -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reached an agreement at a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Moscow on Wednesday.

Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyzstan's President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, Tajikistan's President Imomali Rakhmon and Armenia's President Serzh Sarksyan (L-R) during the Eurasian Economic Community session in Moscow February 4, 2009. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

Leaders of the seven countries say the move will boost the military dimension to the alliance. The force is expected to consist of about 10-thousand men and function under a central command.

The alliance now has a rapid reaction force of about 3-thousand but it is not under unified command.

The agreement came a day after Kyrgyzstan's President, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, said the US must close its military base in the country.

The base was once a key support center for U.S. operations in nearby Afghanistan.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei