MOSCOW, August 29 (RIA Novosti) – The peacekeeping forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is prepared for any operations outside its territories, including in Ukraine, but a decision for a peacekeeping mission would depend on the organization’s members, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha said Friday.
“The peacekeeping forces of the CSTO were formed several years ago and has undergone military preparation. The military personnel in its ranks are well-prepared in individual relations and equipped with all the needed military and technical means. They are ready to participate in peacekeeping operations of any caliber, as was confirmed by the results of recent joint drills in the Republic of Kyrgyszstan,” Bordyuzha said.
“Deployment of the CSTO peacekeeping forces is within the jurisdiction of the Council for Collective Security of the Treaty, the supreme body of the CSTO consisting of the members’ heads of state. With their joint decision and in accordance with existing agreements, the peacekeeping forces can be deployed within and without the territory of member states,” the CSTO secretary general noted.
The CSTO consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
In mid-April, Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in the southeast of Ukraine after they refused to recognize the legitimacy of a coup-imposed government.
The situation in eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk has escalated in the past few days. On Thursday, Donetsk People’s Republic Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko said forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics finally launched a counter-offensive against the Ukrainian military. The same day, Ukraine's Security and Defense Council said it is drawing up plans to respond to the counter-offensive.
