Officials in Kyrgyzstan abruptly canceled a weeklong military exercise that was scheduled to begin Monday and would have included several countries affiliated with the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Military units from the six CSTO members — Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia — were to have taken part in the drills, along with non-CSTO countries like Serbia and Syria.
Kyrgyzstan announced the cancellation Sunday but didn’t give a reason, according to reports by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The country clashed with Tajikistan in September and called on the CSTO, seen by Moscow as a counterweight to NATO, to take an active role in resolving the dispute.
“Kyrgyz lawmakers had reportedly objected to Tajikistan being allowed to participate in the exercise,” according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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