Peace Mission - 2007

The exercise was scheduled for April 2006, while Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov noted at a meeting of the heads of the defense ministers of the SCO member states in Beijing that the exercises were not directed against any countries ^[1] .

According to the Ministry of Defense , the cost of conducting exercises amounted to more than 2 billion rubles. The funds were spent on the reconstruction of the interspecific range of the Chebarkul Russian Defense Ministry , the construction and repair of infrastructure facilities. To cover the course of the exercise, a press center was created.

August 9 in the Chinese city of Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region , the start of the exercise was announced. The consultations in Urumqi were chaired by a member of the Central Military Council of the PRC - the Chief of the General Staff of the PLA Liang Guangle . The consultation was attended by the First Deputy Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan - Chairman of the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, Army General Mukhtar Altynbayev , Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan Major General Boris Yugai , Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation General of the Army Yuri Baluyevsky , Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan Lieutenant General Ramil Nadyrov , Deputy Chief The joint headquarters of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan, Major General Nosirbek Usmanbekov ^[2] . The participants emphasized the importance of the upcoming exercises and their role in the joint protection and security guarantees of the SCO countries. On August 11, an official opening took place at the Chebarkul military training ground in the Chelyabinsk region.

More than 7.5 thousand troops of the SCO countries (according to V. Moltensky ) ^[3] , more than a thousand units of military equipment were involved in the events. 1.7 thousand PLA soldiers, Il- 76MD military transport aircraft, Z-9 WA, Mi-17 helicopters and Flying Leopard JH-7A attack aircraft operated from China. Kazakhstan and Tajikistan sent airborne assault companies, Kyrgyzstan - the elite airborne assault platoon "Scorpion", Uzbek officers took part in staff exercises and maneuvering ^{[4] [5]} . During the exercise, 700 thousand small-arms cartridges were spent, 17 thousand charges for infantry fighting vehicles, 5 thousand for grenade launchers, 1.7 thousand for artillery ^[6] . On the Russian side, units of the 34th Motorized Rifle Division of the Volga-Urals Military District , military transport (Il-76), army (Mi-8, Mi-24 P) and front-line ( Su-25 ) aviation, airborne forces and internal troops ^[7] . Operational airfields were made by Shagol and Uprun.

The exercise took place in five stages: reconnaissance, seizure of key areas, blocking and prosecution of terrorists, their disarmament and liquidation on the ground and from the air.

On August 17, the completion ceremony was held, which was attended by the leaders of the SCO member states - Chinese President Hu Jintao , Russian President Vladimir Putin , Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev , Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev , Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon and Uzbek President Islam Karimov .

At the final stage, the joint anti-terrorism forces conducted an assault on a fortified point seized by conditional terrorists. Unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, combat helicopters and fighters, artillery, several hundred infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and special forces vehicles took part in the assault.

The Chinese Xinhua news agency commented on the teachings as a demonstration of the “determination to oppose the“ three forces ”- terrorism, separatism and extremism and to maintain peace in the region and around the world” ^[8] .

At the end of the exercise, Vladimir Putin noted: “Today’s exercises are another step in strengthening relations between our countries. A step aimed at strengthening international peace, security and, above all, the security of our peoples ” ^[9] . Major-General Vladimir Glebov said that the results of the exercises during the discussion in the Russian headquarters under the leadership of Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Colonel-General Vladimir Moltensky were highly appreciated. Glebov did not rule out the possibility of conducting further bilateral Russian-Chinese exercises ^[10] .

In a number of Western media, the exercises were regarded as countering the Central Asian countries to the influence of the United States in the region. The British Daily Telegraph called the SCO the second “ Warsaw Pact ”, noting that the United States would watch the exercises with alarm ^[11] . Commenting on the teachings, the New York Times links the creation of the SCO with the desire of China and Russia to establish control over large energy reserves in Central Asia ^[12] . The Suddeutsche Zeitung evaluated the teachings as “an intention to create a center of influence, independent of the West” ^[13] . Similar assessments were made by French Le Figaro , German Die Tageszeitung , Japanese Yomiuri ^{[14] [15] [16]} .

• Photos (not available link) on the site kremlin.ru
• Selection of articles and photos of the Xinhua News Agency
• Selection of articles on the Rossiyskaya Gazeta website