Translated with AI
From April 7 to 9, the CSTO Joint Headquarters held the first staff talks on organizing and conducting joint exercises with the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) in 2026. This was reported by the CSTO press service.
In his opening remarks, Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, emphasized that, in accordance with the priorities of the Russian Federation, which will chair the CSTO in 2026, the most important area is the organization of joint training, taking into account the nature of current and future challenges and threats, as well as the experience of modern armed conflicts.
According to him, building up the combat potential of national contingents and equipping them with modern weapons, military, and special equipment also remains a priority.
Andrei Serdyukov noted that the primary issue is the organization of troop command and control. To improve this area, a special exercise on command and control system deployment is planned for this year before the "Interaction-2026" command and staff exercise. The main objectives of the exercise are to practice forming and coordinating command and control bodies, as well as deploying command and control posts at all levels of the newly created CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces.
Representatives of interested ministries and departments of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan, as well as the Secretariat and the Joint Staff of the CSTO, the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center and the Coordination Service of the Council of Commanders of the CIS Border Troops, took part in the negotiations under the general leadership of the First Deputy Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, Lieutenant General Hasan Kaloyev.
In addition, representatives of leading enterprises invited to organize a demonstration of the capabilities of the latest and most advanced weapons, military and special equipment during joint exercises participated in the negotiations.
Particular attention was paid to conducting an instructional and methodological training session for representatives of CSTO member states. It was aimed at communicating and explaining the key principles of the recommendations developed by the Joint Staff on the formation, coordination, and organization of the command of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces in preparation for a joint operation.
During the staff talks, the objectives, stages, dates, and areas of the joint exercises, the preliminary composition of the command and control bodies and troops involved, and the organization of command, coordination, and comprehensive support for the exercises were discussed. The procedure for the participation of representatives of non-CSTO member states and international organizations as observers was also discussed, as was the organization of demonstrations of new weapons, military, and special equipment.
The main events of joint operational and combat training in accordance with the approved plan of the Council of Ministers of Defense and the Committee of Secretaries of the CSTO Security Councils will be carried out:
in September in the Republic of Kazakhstan – a joint exercise with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region "Frontier-2026";
in September–October in the Russian Federation – a command and staff exercise with the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces “Interaction-2026”, as well as special exercises “Search-2026” and “Echelon-2026”;
In October, the Republic of Belarus will host a command and staff exercise with the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces, “Indestructible Brotherhood-2026,” and a special exercise, “Barrier-2026.”
