New post-Soviet force begins military exercises

New Russia-dominated NATO-style rapid-reaction force kicks off first military exercises

Thousands of troops from Russia and four other ex-Soviet nations began military exercises in southern Kazakhstan on Friday, the first of its kind for the newly formed NATO-style rapid-reaction force.

Moscow is hoping the force will help bolster the power and prestige of the seven-nation Collective Security Treaty Organization, which Russia is hoping will help counterbalance NATO but to date has been seen largely as a mere talking shop.

More than 7,000 troops gathered at the Matybulak training grounds for the maneuvers, which are expected to last two weeks, the Kazakh Defense Ministry said in a statement on its Web site.

The ministry said the drills will, among other things, help train troops in combating insurgent uprisings in CSTO member countries — something that has worried some Central Asian nations that share borders with Afghanistan or Pakistan.

In June, President Dmitry Medvedev and leaders of Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan finalized the creation of the Collective Rapid Reaction Force. The other members of the CSTO — Belarus and Uzbekistan — declined to take part.

Cohesion in the alliance has already been under strain amid Russian attempts to boost its presence in impoverished Kyrgyzstan, a plan that has been strongly resisted by neighboring Uzbekistan, traditionally Central Asia's dominant power broker.

Belarus, meanwhile, has not joined the rapid reaction force initiative either, mainly because of trade and other disputes between Minsk and Moscow.

But Belarus' leader, Alexander Lukashenko, was quoted by news agencies as saying Friday that his nation has finalized all procedures to join the new force.

Russian efforts to increase its clout in Central Asia are widely viewed as an attempt to outmaneuver the U.S. and its push for influence in the strategic region.

U.S. forces have used bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to support military operations in Afghanistan.

AP News