CSTO Military Committee discussing CSTO’s defense capacity in Moscow

          The CSTO Military Committee discussed ways to boost the defense capacity of the organization in Moscow. The first session was led by Ilyazbek Subankulov, First Deputy Defense Minister of Kyrgyzstan, the country that assumed CSTO chairmanship in 2013. He noted that the decision to set up the Committee was made by the Presidents of the CSTO member states at a summit in December 2012. It took three years to draft the decision on the establishment of the Committee. The CSTO Military Committee is charged with defense matters of the organization. “I hope that the establishment of the Military Committee will give a new impetus to the CSTO,” Ilyazbek Subankulov said. Talking about the priorities of Kyrgyzstan as the CSTO chairman, the First Deputy Defense Minister of Kyrgyzstan noted that the major efforts will be channeled into expanding cooperation between the CSTO member states.  Taking part in the session of the CSTO Military Committee were heads of general staffs of the armed forces of Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Tajikistan, CSTO Deputy Secretary General Valery Semerikov and Chairman of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers Alexander Sinaisky.