Anatoly Vyborny: CSTO coordinating state will form peacekeeping force under UN auspices

Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation have considered the ratification of the Protocol on Introduction of Amendments to the Agreement on Peacekeeping Activities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of October 6, 2007.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, had proposed to the State Duma to ratify amendments to the Agreement on Peacekeeping Activities of the CSTO in order to introduce the concept of a “coordinating state.” Today, on April 5, 2022, the Russian State Duma voted to adopt the document.
Anatoly Vyborny, Chairman of the Standing Commission on Defence and Security of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly and deputy Chairman of the Committee on Security and Corruption Control of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, said that “the Protocol adjusts the mechanism of participation of units of the CSTO collective peacekeeping force in large-scale peacekeeping operations and introduces the concept of a ‘coordinating state.’ CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Force will be formed under the auspices of the coordinating state for use in UN peacekeeping operations.”
Anatoly Vyborny stressed that the CSTO Collective Security Council determines the coordinating state. At the same time, conditions of participation of the CSTO peacekeeping force under the United Nations are determined by an agreement concluded between the coordinating state and an authorized UN body.
According to Anatoly Vyborny, this document has been prepared, among other things, to confirm that Russia is bound by the Protocol on Introduction of Amendments to the Agreement on Peacekeeping Activities of the CSTO of October 6, 2007 signed in Dushanbe on September 16, 2021. At the same time, certain issues regarding the inclusion of peacekeeping contingents in collective peacekeeping forces intended for use in UN peacekeeping operations are governed by agreements between the coordinating state and other CSTO Member States.
According to Mr Vyborny, the amendments will significantly expand the scope of action of the CSTO peacekeeping force in carrying out its assigned tasks of maintaining international peace and local security, and will also contribute to strengthening the image and authority of the CSTO in the international arena.