President Putin Wants To Complement CSTO State Troops With Russian Armed Forces

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday proposed launching a program to equip Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) troops with modern Russian weapons.

"We propose launching a large-scale program to equip collective forces with modern Russian weapons and equipment that have proven effective in real fighting," President Putin said in a speech at the CSTO summit in the Kyrgyzstan capital, Bishkek, adding they plan to organize a series of joint exercises in this spirit. , as quoted by Anadolu November 27.

Speaking of Moscow's leadership in the military alliance, which will begin on January 1, 2026, President Putin said Russia would continue to work closely with its allies on all matters relating to strengthening the alliance's military potential.

President Putin said they would prioritize efforts to improve national contingent combat readiness, as well as collective troop command and control, but much work remains to be done to improve the deployment mechanism of peacekeeping forces.

"We view the development of cooperation between countries to ensure the leadership of CSTO technology in the military field as a top priority for the Russian presidency, and we intend to put special emphasis on deepening cooperation between defense industry companies," he explained.

The Russian president also said Moscow believed the development of the alliance's aviation and air defense systems needed "special attention."

"During our leadership, we plan to start developing a new CSTO anti-terrorism strategy together. We will try to do everything necessary to combat extremism more decisively," said President Putin.

CSTO is a military alliance formed in 2002, consisting of Russia and the breakaway states of the Soviet Union, namely Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Armenia, which later suspended participation in CSTO activities in early 2024.