Rustam Shokhmurod, Chairman of the Coordination Council of Chairpersons of Committees on Defence and Security of the Parliaments of the CSTO Member States under the CSTO PA Council: We plan to monitor the military and political situation in the CSTO regions in the South Caucasus, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

‑ Mr Shokhmurod, on May 25, 2021 at the proposal of the Parliament of the Republic of Tajikistan you were elected Chairperson of the Coordination Council of Chairpersons of Committees (Commissions) on Defence and Security of the Parliaments of the CSTO Member States under the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly.

Please tell us about the progress of implementation of the Republic of Tajikistan’s priority tasks in the CSTO in 2021.

– On February 18, 2021, H.E. Emomali Rahmon, Chairman of the CSTO Collective Security Council and President of the Republic of Tajikistan, approved the Action Plan to implement the decisions of the CSTO Collective Security Council session of December 2, 2020 and to implement the priority tasks proposed by the Republic of Tajikistan for the duration of its CSTO presidency.

The Action Plan’s implementation is progressing in all areas within the established time frame, considering the challenging situation on the CSTO borders, including the aggravation of the situation on the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

Particular attention is paid to the implementation of the CSTO Collective Security Council’s decision On the List of Additional Measures to Reduce Tension in the Tajik-Afghan Border Area, counteracting such threats and challenges as terrorism and extremism, weapon and drug trafficking, and other types of transnational organized crime.

Expansion of the inter-parliamentary cooperation through the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly and consequently the approximation and harmonization of the main provisions of national legislative acts of the CSTO States have also been declared as the main priorities of Tajikistan’s presidency in the CSTO.

Detailed information on the implementation of the CSTO PA model acts of legislation into the national legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan was presented at the field session of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization on July 1 in Dushanbe.

– How does the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly and the Coordination Council in particular contribute to this process?

– The Assembly counters threats and challenges to international and national security at the legislative level by developing and adopting model laws and recommendations.

The Coordination Council contributes to the development of proposals on the approximation and harmonization of legislation and policy coordination in defence and security and other relevant regional and international issues.

– What events related to regional security does the Coordination Council plan to hold in the nearest future?

– In the coming months we plan to participate in the preparation of the next meeting of the Council and the CSTO PA session, as well as to monitor the military and political situation in the South Caucasus, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including during the CSTO exercises on the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan.

 

For your information:

The 201st Joint Russian military base is the core of the CSTO Collective Rapid Deployment Force in the Republic of Tajikistan. In addition, the forces of the Central Military District of the Russian Defence Ministry are ready to actively assist the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan at any time, if requested by the President.

Russia also sends to Tajikistan modern weapons and contributes to the reinforcement of the 201st base and the Armed Forces of the Republic.

According to media reports, in August 2021, the 201st base received advanced firearms, infantry fighting vehicles, flamethrowers and MANPADs. In particular, the servicemen received AK-12 assault rifles, while Makarov PM handguns were replaced with Yarygin handguns. The base also received ASVK-M AMRs and long-range flamethrowers; air defence was reinforced with the Verba MANPADs.

Moreover, under the agreement Russia assigns necessary funds for the construction and equipment of a new checkpoint on the Tajik-Afghan border, Interfax news agency quotes Oleg Syromolotov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister. According to the agency, the agreement will be signed soon. The border checkpoint and the new border crossing point equipped with modern technologies is to be built in the Khatlon oblast, one of the most vulnerable sections of the Tajik-Afghan border.

The construction of the new checkpoint on the Tajik-Afghan border was announced during the visit of Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, to Dushanbe in May.

As you may recall, the Kharb-Maidon training range, 20 kilometers from the Tajik-Afghan border, recently hosted joint anti-terrorist exercises of the Russian, Tajik and Uzbek Armed Forces.