The task of enhancing the collective defense of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries has gained heightened significance amid increasing competition among major world powers, CIS Secretary-General Sergey Lebedev said.
“In today’s international environment, characterized by rising instability, conflicts, and intensified competition among major powers, strengthening the collective defense of the Commonwealth states acquires special importance,” Lebedev’s greeting was read by Eugeny Klemez, Director of the Department for Cooperation in the Security Sphere of the CIS Executive Committee, at a meeting of the Committee of Chiefs of the General Staff of the CIS member states’ armed forces.
Lebedev noted that the upcoming meeting of the Council of Heads of CIS States, scheduled for October 10 in Dushanbe, will approve a concept for military cooperation among member states through 2030. The document outlines mid-term objectives, emphasizing the concentration of joint efforts on priority areas aimed at strengthening national armed forces and ensuring the secure development of the Commonwealth states as a whole.
He emphasized the pivotal role of the Committee of Chiefs of General Staffs as a coordinating and strategic mechanism within military cooperation in the Commonwealth. Recent years’ practice demonstrates that the Committee functions as a working body and a kind of “brain center” for CIS military collaboration, generating proposals for approval by the Council of Defense Ministers and implementation in concrete programs.
Lebedev pointed out that joint military systems play a particularly crucial role in these efforts, ensuring operational interoperability of the armed forces of the CIS countries. A key example is the CIS integrated air defense system, responsible for protecting airspace borders. In addition, control and assessment systems for radiological, chemical, and biological environments, a shared communications system, and a unified hydrometeorological support system for the troops are actively developed.
According to Lebedev, these joint military systems, along with regular exercises and synchronized personnel training programs, create a real foundation for collective security. “It is evident that the Committee of Chiefs of General Staffs will only increase its coordinating role. This body is capable of ensuring concerted actions of the armed forces and proposing new avenues of cooperation to meet 21st-century challenges,” he added.
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Photo: Official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS