MINSK, 13 June (BelTA) - Belarus believes that the CSTO Collective Rapid Response Forces should be equipped with the latest armaments and military hardware, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with the defense ministers of the CSTO member states on 13 June, BelTA has learned.
According to the Belarusian head of state, the OSCE member states have designated their best trained divisions of the national armed forces to the Collective Rapid Response Forces. The president stressed that the CSTO Collective Security Council took a decision to equip the Collective Rapid Response Forces with the state-of-the-art and, what is more important, compatible weaponry. This is envisaged in the agreement on the Collective Rapid Response Forces.
According to the president, little progress, however, has been made so far. “In such a situation the collective forces cannot achieve their full potential. Hence, we should intensify our efforts in this area,” Alexander Lukashenko said.
The Belarusian head of state also believes that there is a need to accelerate the work on the agreement on the joint technical support of the CSTO Collective Rapid Response Forces. The document has been developed as part of the corresponding system of material and technical support of the forces. “Its implementation will help us address many issues related to the support of the Collective Forces activity both in part of executing combat tasks and conducting exercises,” the head of state noted.
