Expanding the potential of the 102nd Russian military base in Armenia and arming the Armenian army with new weapons are aimed at strengthening the security of the republic and the entire Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, said this at the Bishkek-Yerevan-Minsk-Moscow videoconference today.

He added that raising the level of Armenia's security serves as an important component of strengthening the Caucasus direction of CSTO security.

"It fits into the logic that the military consolidation of a single member state is in the interests of the whole organization," Sidorov said. "In addition, the strengthening of the national armed forces has been identified as a major source of increased combat-readiness, a priority direction for the organization's activities in the statute documents."

He stressed that in 2020, most of the CSTO military exercises will take place in Armenia.