Creation of Rapid Deployment Force Marks Potential Watershed in Collective Security Treaty Development
The creation of rapid deployment forces marks a potential watershed for the Collective Security Treaty (CST), which is striving to carve out a far-reaching role as a security organization. A recent summit meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, focused mainly on security threats in Central Asia, where it is hoped that CST shock troops can play a key part in subduing Islamic militants led by Juma Namangani. But less publicized decisions to establish similar reaction forces in the Caucasus and Belarus could also have wide-ranging security implications.
As widely anticipated, the May 25 meeting of the heads of state of CST member states ratified the creation of rapid deployment forces (RDF). Each of the six member countries -- Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan will be expected to contribute at least one battalion to the RDF. The immediate impulse for the creation of the RDF is connected with Central Asia, where, according to conventional wisdom, Islamic extremism is on the rise, helping to fuel terrorism and drug trafficking.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan hailed the meeting as a new stage in the development of multilateral cooperation among the states of the former Soviet Union. Some leaders, including Oskanyan, envision the creation of the RDF as an important step towards the establishment of a comprehensive collective security framework that ultimately could offer an alternative to the US-dominated NATO security framework.
For the time being, however, CST leaders are preoccupied with regional, rather than continental, security affairs. In a joint statement, the presidents of the six countries declared their commitment to "continue to jointly rebut any attempts to disturb peace and tranquility in Central Asia. In this context we attach importance to the formation of collective rapid-deployment forces by CST-member states, and intend to encompass this task in the near future." The Central Asian RDF is expected to become operational as early as August, which is prime campaign season in Central Asia. The 3,000-strong Central Asia group will comprise battalions from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, as well as elements of the Russian 201st division deployed in Tajikistan. By the fall, the RDF is expected to begin holding commander-staff training.
In the Caucasus, a 1,500-strong RDF will comprise Russian and Armenian troops. The force would be designed primarily to respond to regional security challenges, including instability related to the ongoing fighting in Chechnya.
The CST's larger, continental vision is primarily embodied in the decision to establish a third RDF contingent, based in Belarus. This force would respond to potential security threats in Eastern European sectors of the CIS, where the threat of extremism is virtually non-existent. Hence, combating terrorism is not the only goal pursued by the members of the treaty. In fact, according to the above-mentioned declaration, the CST's targets are not limited to the problems created by terrorism and extremism. Its first paragraph reads:
"We, the leaders of the states participating in the Collective Security Treaty, state our strong resolution to promote the formation of a multi-polar, fair and democratic world order based on respect for the United Nations Charter and the norms of the international law."
This reference indicates the CST aspires to develop into one of the poles in a new, multi-polar geopolitical global structure. The leaders participating in the Yerevan summit expressed optimism about the CST's development potential. They mentioned that the CST, which was signed in 1992, was (like most of other CIS structures) inactive due to conflicting interests of its members. However, the 1998 withdrawals of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan from the pact cleared the way for more substantive multilateral cooperation. The documents signed at the Yerevan summit serve as the first results of that renewed spirit of cooperation.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan described the Yerevan session as a breakthrough as the "CST is being filled with real contents."
He expressed belief that CST members will emerge as strategic partners, "which means that mutual relationships within the Treaty should be different from all other relations, including from bilateral ones." If Nazerbayev's vision becomes reality, Russia could see its influence in Central Asia and the Caucasus rise.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is preparing a concept under which "military-technical cooperation with Treaty participating countries will be different from cooperation with other countries of the world." According to preliminary information, this will include, among other things, a favorable regime for arms supply to these countries. And it seems inevitable that Uzbekistan, one of the countries most vulnerable against terrorism, will be forced to cooperate with this CST closely, if not to join it again.
Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer specializing in economic and political affairs.
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