Former Soviet Grouping Wants its Own Peacekeepers

Nikolai Bordyuzha, secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, CSTO, has announced that an agreement to create a joint peacekeeping force will be signed in July. The member states – Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan –began talks on setting up the force in 2004.



Peacekeeping forces operating under the aegis of the Commonwealth of Independent States are already conducting missions in parts of the former Soviet Union. Nor are there any new conflicts within CSTO member states that require the intervention of peacekeepers.



Some Kyrgyz politicians have suggested that the CSTO force might intervene in the event of major unrest or serious political instability in Kyrgyzstan.



It is also envisaged that CSTO peacekeepers could operate outside the region if mandated to do so by the United Nations.