CORF to receive new equipment and weaponry

YEREVAN, September 20. /ARKA/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) secretary general Nikolay Bordyzha said after the final stage of the five-day maneuvers held at the Armenian army’s Marshal Bagramian training ground that all CSTO’s Collective Operational Reaction Forces (CORF) troops will receive new equipment and special devices.

He also emphasized the “strategic significance” of Russia’s relation with Armenia and praised the course of the war games which involved about 2,000 soldiers from Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan simulating a joint operation against imaginary “illegal armed formations” invading a CSTO member state. The CORF troops were backed up by tanks, armored vehicles, artillery systems, helicopter guns and warplanes firing live rounds.

Speaking to ARKA Nikolay Bordyuzha said the first task is to equip CORF with most modern weaponry according to an agreement signed by the CSTO member countries’ presidents. He said the second task is to raise combat coordination and training of CORF through war games.

The final phase of the war games codenamed Interaction-2012 were watched by Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan, Russian, Armenian and Belarusian defense ministers and top army generals from Kazakhstan, heads of diplomatic missions stationed in Armenia, representatives of the UN, OSCE and International Red Cross Committee. -0-