Anatoly Serdyukov said that the exercises would be held in turn in each of the organization's member states.

"I believe this will provide a real opportunity to increase the combat readiness of individual armed forces and strengthen the collective security of the organization," Serdyukov said.

Rubezh-2008 was held on the territory of Armenia. About 4,000 troops from Armenia, Russia and Tajikistan took part in the four-stage military exercises, which started on July 22 and ended on August 22.

The CSTO is a security grouping comprising the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.