CSTO Military Drills in Kyrgyzstan Wrap Up

The command and staff drills of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Frontier-2025 have ended in Kyrgyzstan, its Defense Ministry said.

The closing ceremony was attended by Erlis Terdikbayev, Kyrgyzstan’s First Deputy Defense Minister, Andrey Serdyukov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, personnel of the national military contingents participating in the exercise, soldiers of the Balychki garrison, and their family members, The Caspian Post reports, citing TASS.

"The objectives of the exercise have been achieved: actions have been taken to block and destroy illegal armed formations, military contingents have demonstrated a high level of training and interaction," the ministry quoted Terdikbayev as saying.

The exercises took place in three stages. At the first stage, actions of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asia during higher degrees of combat readiness were worked out, as well as regrouping to the exercise area. At the second stage, the units were engaged in the preparation of the organization of military operations to eliminate illegal armed groups in mountainous areas. At the third stage, the units worked on military operations to block and destroy combat groups and detachments of illegal armed formations and restore the situation along the state border.

The CSTO exercises were held in the republic on September 17-20 on the basis of the Edelweiss training center in Balychki and in the Lake Issyk-Kul. Military contingents from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and operational groups of the CSTO Joint Staff and secretariat took part in them. The participants numbered 1,200 people and 500 units of military and special equipment, including airplanes, helicopters, drones and combat boats.