BISHKEK. Aug 3 (Interfax-AVN) - An opening ceremony of the military exercise was held in Bishkek on Tuesday, an Interfax-ANV correspondent reported.
The headquarters for the Rubezh 2004 exercise will have to develop a plan of actions to be taken in the event of a possible escalation of tensions in Central Asia, as well as to draw up suggestions on commanding and using forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Kyrgyz Defense Ministry representative Malik Jumagulov said at the opening ceremony that "not a single state, even the most developed one, is capable of dealing with the challenges posed by international terrorism since the fight against terrorism requires cooperation and mutual understanding by all states."
"A number of international terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Turkestan are still hoping to create a khalifat (Islamic state) in the Fergana Valley which would later be spread to the entire Central Asian region," he said.
Jumagulov emphasized the importance of the role which the Collective Security Treaty Organization plays in ensuring the security of the CIS southern borders.
Col. Vladimir Kotovich, a representative of the Collective Security Treaty Organization's combined headquarters, who also attended the opening ceremony, said that "the idea was to hold the exercises amid a possible escalation of military-political tensions in Kyrgyzstan."
The Collective Security Treaty Organization currently comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. The organization's collective rapid deployment forces were set up on May 25, and include nine battalions totaling 5,500 people. A Russian air base was deployed in the interests of the collective rapid deployment forces at the Kant airport in Bishkek in October 2003.