DUSHANBE, April 16, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- The anti-terror drill, dubbed Rubezh-2010 (Frontier-2010), for the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Central Asian group that will be conducted in northern Tajikistan in late April is a planned event, Suhrob Sharipov, director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan, remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe on April 15.

It is to be noted that it is the first time that the Rubezh drill is conducted not at the CSTO external borders.  According to Sharipov, geographical selection of the place for the drill is very topical in consideration of the security and stability problems in the Ferghana Valley.  “The next exercise can be conducted in Caucasus or any another place can be selected,” said he, “There is nothing special about this.  When we speak about the CSTO, we mean, first of all, counteraction to terrorism and radical extremist movements.”

Meanwhile, Professor Abdunabi Sattorzoda, the head of the foreign policy and foreign economic development department of the Center for Strategic Studies, considers that Tajikistan ought not to count on regional organizations, including the CSTO, in the internal security providing issues.  “We should not count on the CSTO or any other regional organization,” said the expert, “We must rely only on ourselves and the events in Kyrgyzstan proved this once again.”

We will recall that the CSTO anti-terror drill,Rubezh-2010, will be conducted for the CSTO Central Asian group in Sughd province from April 20-24.  The exercise that is expected to involve some 500 military personnel will close on April 24 with a final phase at the Chorukh-Dayron training grounds featuring live-fire missions