Ex-Soviet allies seek joint force

Putin arrived at the summit after visiting flood-stricken Siberia

YEREVAN, Armenia -- The leaders of Russia and five friendly former Soviet republics are holding talks on establishing a regional "rapid reaction force."

Officials said President Vladimir Putin and leaders from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are considering ways to tackle instability in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Putin was joining the two-day summit on Thursday in the Armenian capital Yerevan after a lightning overnight trip to flood-stricken Siberia.

The six-member collective security group brings together Moscow's most loyal allies among the broader, 12-member post-Soviet grouping, the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The joint forces would be geared towards fighting the perceived threat of Islamic extremism and drug smuggling in Central Asia, they said.

Kyrgyz Defence Minister Esen Topoyev told Reuters the proposed force would be based in his country's capital, Bishkek, and be formed from battalions from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Russia under a Russian commander.

Russia has made a battle with Islamic extremists the cornerstone of its efforts to increase its security ties with other ex-Soviet states. Putin has referred to an "arc of extremism" stretching from Afghanistan to Chechnya to Kosovo.

Moscow faces its own battle with Muslim rebels in Chechnya and also patrols Tajikistan's share of the old Soviet frontier with Afghanistan.

Former Soviet leaders in the region accuse Afghanistan's ruling Taleban of supporting Islamic radicals who have stepped up activities in ex-Soviet Central Asia since 1999, clashing with government troops in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Putin has also promised security guarantees to Uzbekistan, although it has withdrawn from the collective security group.

Armenian Foreign Ministry officials said Putin and President Robert Kocharyan would discuss progress towards a resolution of the 13-year conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.