CSTO PA Role in Combating New Threats Discussed at the First International Security Forum

The 1st International Security Forum began on May 26. Hundreds of participants from 120 countries will spend four days discussing various aspects of security, protection of traditional values and combating neocolonialism and neo-Nazism.

Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, opened the first meeting of the agenda, the meeting of Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which brought together colleagues from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. They will review the military and political situation in the CSTO collective security regions and the Organization’s activities during the intersessional period. Given the Russian Federation’s chairmanship of the CSTO, the progress of implementation of Russia’s priorities within the Organization in 2026 will be discussed in accordance with the plan approved by Collective Security Council Chairman Vladimir Putin.

In his speech at the Forum, CSTO PA Executive Secretary Sergei Pospelov paid special attention to contemporary manifestations of neocolonialism. Unlike traditional colonialism, which relied mainly on force and terror, neocolonialism employs a broader spectrum of destructive tools.

According to Sergei Pospelov, today’s primary tools include not only armed aggression, sanctions and financial manipulation, but also informational pressure on citizens.

The Executive Secretary of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly noted that the Assembly currently has 104 model legislative acts. The most relevant documents include the model laws On Countering Terrorism (2025) and On Information Protection and Cybersecurity (2023), Recommendations on the Elaboration of General Principles of the Development of National Legislation Regulating the Creation of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (2024), Recommendations on Countering External Attempts to Distort Historical Events and the Outcomes of the Great Patriotic War and World War II (2024), as well as Recommendations on the Protection of Electoral Processes and Sovereignty in CSTO Member States (2022).

Sergei Pospelov announced that the Parliamentary Assembly is currently drafting legislation in such critical areas as information and biological security, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for military purposes, the regulation of artificial intelligence and the protection of electoral processes.

In conclusion, he invited interested parties to engage in constructive cooperation in this area. He emphasized that the CSTO PA is ready to offer partners and observers its multifaceted experience in providing a legal framework for collective security to effectively counter all kinds of international challenges and threats.

According to the press service of the Russian Security Council, more than 140 foreign delegations from over 120 countries attended the forum. Among them are representatives from nearly all African countries (50 out of 54), all partners from the SCO, BRICS and ASEAN and most countries of the Middle East and Latin America. Also participating in the forum are unofficial representatives from 12 unfriendly countries who actively advocate for the development of constructive relations with Russia.