Russia and its five fellow members of the regional Collective Security Treaty Organisation (ODKB) have agreed to establish peacekeeping forces, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.
"The decision to create such forces has been made," Lavrov told a news conference after meeting his ODKB counterparts.
The other members are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
"Today we discussed technical and financial issues to make sure these forces function properly. We all agree that this is an important tool for reaching our objectives," he said.
The treaty setting up the ODKB was signed in 1992 and emphasised members' common fight against terrorism, drugs traffic and organised crime. The organisation's peace-keepers will act within ODKB members states under United Nations mandate when a mission is necessary, according to its secretary general, Nikolai Bordyuzha.
"Russia is creating its own Nato," suggested Wednesday's edition of the Russian Kommersant newspaper, adding that Russia was ready to reduce gas prices as an inducement for signing up to the project.
Russian national security chief Igor Ivanov, who met Tuesday with his ODKB counterparts, blasted Nato and the United States for the "pressure" they were exerting in Central Asia, which was "raising tensions" in the region.