Russia and Armenia Signal Control Over the Situation Through CSTO Exercises: Russian Expert

The "Vorot-2021" exercises, starting on September 24, organized by the CSTO's rapid response units, hold global significance regardless of their scale and will be under close scrutiny from external actors due to the geopolitical importance of Armenia and the South Caucasus region.

In an interview with Armenpress, Ivan Konovalov, director of the Russian Center for Strategic Conjuncture and a military expert, emphasized that such exercises typically convey serious messages. In this case, the messages are directed towards Turkey and Azerbaijan, among others.

“The conduct of such exercises is, in essence, of not just regional but global significance for one simple reason: Armenia and the entire South Caucasus region are extraordinarily important in geopolitical terms. The execution of such exercises generally contains serious 'messages'. Naturally, these exercises are drawn to the attention of various geopolitical players, primarily the South Caucasian republics and the external actors surrounding the South Caucasus, including Russia, Turkey, Iran, the United States, and France. Therefore, such exercises, regardless of their scale, are in the spotlight,” Konovalov commented, highlighting that the importance of the exercises is determined by the location where they are held.

In this case, the exercises will take place in Armenia, underscoring their primary significance within the CSTO framework. As for who is conducting the exercises and in what format, according to Konovalov, that is another matter.

“What is important is that such exercises, like 'Vorot-2021', aim to convey to many concerned countries and parties that the situation regarding Russia and Armenia is under mutual control,” the expert stressed.

Konovalov also disagreed with the view that military exercises within the CSTO framework are infrequently conducted. He pointed out that one of the characteristics of the CSTO is that exercises within the organization are often held in bilateral formats. For instance, earlier this month, the 'West-2021' strategic exercises took place, which had two main parties—Russia and Belarus—but also included other participants, including countries that are not CSTO members.

According to the CSTO press service, the 'Vorot-2021' exercises will take place from September 24 to 28 in Armenia, involving special services that deal with the illegal trafficking of drugs, their subdivisions, and internal affairs bodies within the collective forces of the CSTO's rapid response teams. The exercises will be conducted in accordance with the joint preparedness plan of the CSTO's collective security system management bodies and forces.

During the first phase, the combined groups of the competent authorities of CSTO member states and the special units of the Armenian armed forces will work on training and practical tasks in mountainous terrain. Simultaneously, CSTO command-staff exercises will take place to develop and implement special operations.