MOSCOW: Russia and four former Soviet republics staged war games on Friday to showcase a new NATO-style rapid reaction force designed to cement Moscow's hold over allies in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Dressed in combat fatigues, the leaders of Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan looked on as the force carried out a mock attack to destroy "insurgents" who had taken control of a chemical plant.
Smoke rose from a dew-drenched firing range in the Kazakh steppe, revealing paratroopers landing from helicopters and storming a building to rescue hostages.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived at the Soviet-era firing range in a helicopter and wore desert-style camouflage uniforms created by fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin.
Russia is building up the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a military alliance among former Soviet republics, as a counterweight to NATO. The organisation commits members to defend each other if attacked.
Five of the CSTO members agreed to create the rapid reaction force in February, when Medvedev said the units should be comparable to NATO structures.
Officials said 7,000 troops and 90 aircraft took part in the "Interaction-2009" drills, which covered an area of 1,600 square kilometres (600 square miles) at the Matybulak firing range in southern Kazakhstan.
After inspecting troops and weapons, Medvedev and the other leaders moved to a two-storey brick command centre where they watched the exercises for 90 minutes through binoculars.
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