Heads of CSTO States met in Dushanbe

A session of the Collective Security Council (CSC) of the Collective Security Treaty Organization chaired by Emomali Rahmon, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, was held in Dushanbe on September 16.
Participants of the session included Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia; Aleksandr Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus; Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Sadyr Japarov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic; Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation (remotely) and Emomali Rahmon, President of the Republic of Tajikistan.
CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas also participated in the meeting.
According to the press service of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, one of the most important issues under discussion was the Afghanistan situation and its impact on the security of the Organization’s Member States.
Given that the Republic of Armenia takes over the CSTO presidency in 2021–2022, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented the Republic’s priorities to be implemented.
“The CSTO must act as a guarantor and donor of stability across the Eurasian continent,” Aleksandr Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus, said in his speech at the CSC session. According to him, the issue of migration also requires more attention.
Sadyr Japarov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, suggested developing a framework in case of an attack of one Member State against another, while Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, stated the necessity to deepen the foreign policy coordination of the CSTO Member States.
At the end of the CSC session, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas said, “The rapid advance of the Taliban movement, its taking control over almost the entire territory of Afghanistan, including the state borders and the capital city of Kabul, as well as the change of government in the country greatly impact the situation in the CSTO Central Asian region of collective security and cause deep concern of the heads of CSTO States.”
According to the official CSTO website, presidents of the CSTO Member States agreed to make additional efforts to increase cooperation in counteracting the threats and challenges emanating from the territory of Afghanistan. The Organization worked out practical collective measures designed to ensure the security of the Republic of Tajikistan in case of aggravation of the border situation. To this end, within a month the CSTO Collective Forces will conduct a series of large-scale exercises near the Tajik-Afghan border: Poisk-2021 (“Search 2021”), Echelon-2021, Vzaimodeistvie-2021 (“Cooperation 2021”) and Cobalt-2021; all of them will be held according to a single plan.
An agreement was reached to accelerate the adoption of the Targeted Interstate Programme of the Tajik-Afghan Border Reinforcement proposed by the Republic of Tajikistan within the CSTO.
The presidents noted the high level of Tajik presidency over the Organization in 2020–2021 and the implementation of priorities during this period.
The heads of state approved the Plan to Equip the CSTO Collective Rapid Deployment Forces with Advanced Weapons, Military and Special equipment and Special Assets.
Due to the evolving situation in Afghanistan, the Plan of Operational Deployment of the Organization’s Collective Forces in the Central Asian region and the composition of military contingents and units of special forces of the CSTO Collective Rapid Deployment Force were amended.
The list of documents signed by the end of the session includes the Agreement on Joint Material, Technical and Medical Support for the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces).
The presidents signed the Agreement on Jurisdiction Issues and the Provision of Legal Assistance in Cases Related to the Temporary Presence of Formations of Collective Security Forces and Assets on the Territories of Collective Security Treaty Organization Member States. The document regulates the creation of a cooperation framework between the competent bodies of the CSTO Member States – military police, military investigation, military prosecutor’s office and military courts (tribunals) – in criminal and administrative cases involving persons belonging to formations of the collective security forces and assets.
The CSC session adopted the Declaration of the CSTO Collective Security Council expressing grave concern about the continuing high level of threat to the security and sovereignty of states in the CSTO area of responsibility and emphasizing the determination to consistently work to strengthen international and regional security and to justly resolve international issues on the basis of universally recognized norms and principles of international law.
In May 2022, the CSTO will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Collective Security Treaty and the 20th anniversary of the CSTO itself.
The CSTO Collective Security Council approved a Plan that provides for various organizational, foreign policy, military and technical, military and economic, cultural and educational, scientific and practical and other events dedicated to this anniversary.
“We endorse increasing the effectiveness of multilevel political consultations between the CSTO Member States to develop concerted collective responses to emerging challenges and threats,” notes the Declaration adopted by the CSTO Collective Security Council.