MOSCOW, 14 October (BelTA) – The CSTO collective rapid response forces exercise Interaction 2019 [Vzaimodeistviye] will take place in the exercise area of the 333rd Combat Training Center of the Western Military District of Russia's Armed Forces in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast on 16-18 October, BelTA has learned.
The Interaction 2019 exercise will focus on preparing and carrying out a joint operation to localize an armed conflict near the border in the Eastern Europe collective security region. This tactical exercise will be held as part of the strategic exercise Combat Brotherhood 2019. It will involve units of special operations forces of the CSTO collective rapid response forces as well as operations groups of defense ministries and representatives of border services of the CSTO member states.
As part of the Interaction 2019 exercise special operations forces will practice reconnaissance using various ground and aerial assets. State border protection troops will be reinforced. A special operation will be staged to block a section of the border of a CSTO member state and destroy illegal military formations.
Taking into account the established practice of carrying out CSTO exercises observers from the UN, the OSCE, the Serbian Defense Ministry, and military attaches accredited in Russia have been invited to watch the final stage of the Interaction 2019 exercise on 18 October. The foreign ministers of the CSTO member states released an open address to the foreign ministers of NATO member states in May 2019 with a proposal to establish constructive cooperation. This is why with approval of the CSTO member states Russia has sent out the relevant invitations.
The exercise will be officially launched on 16 October.
