Sergei Shoigu: Russia will develop cooperation within the CSTO in all major areas

“We are determined to further develop cooperation within the Collective Security Treaty Organization in all major areas. This is particularly important because Western countries are working purposefully to undermine allied relations between the CSTO States. <...> They resort to open threats, blackmail and scheming,” said Army General Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, at a meeting of the Council of Ministers of Defence of the Collective Security Treaty Organization that took place on May 24 via videoconferencing.
“All this requires from us even greater unity, more active and clearer coordination of actions. Russia will continue providing necessary assistance to its allies in neutralizing emerging threats and defending their sovereignty,” TASS quotes Sergei Shoigu as saying.
“Long-term hotspots of tension are forming along the CSTO borders. These conditions require clear coordination and continuous improvement of the forces and assets comprising the collective security system and its decision-making and crisis response mechanisms,” the Russian Defence Minister noted. According to him, the situation in the Eastern European region of collective security has “significantly deteriorated.”
Sergei Shoigu stressed that the West had once ignored Moscow’s proposals to resolve its key issues: NATO’s eastward enlargement and deployment of offensive weapons at Russian borders. “Precisely the opposite was done in each case.”
The United States “set out to completely dismantle the established international security architecture,” while the North Atlantic Alliance moved directly next to Russia and “multiplied its combat capabilities.”
“Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO and to deploy coalition military infrastructure on its territory intensified, and the country itself was transformed into a state hostile to us and used as a tool to exert pressure on Russia.” Given this, as well as the real threat of Kiev building nuclear weapons, biological research on Ukrainian territory, persecution of the Russian language and culture and the situation in Donbas, Moscow was forced to launch a military operation.
Participants of the meeting discussed challenges and threats to military security in the collective security regions of Collective Security Treaty Organization’s Member States and developed proposals for joint countering challenges and threats to collective security.
They considered ways to improve the crisis response system in view of the results of the January (2022) CSTO peacekeeping operation in the Republic of Kazakhstan and approved a number of documents on the development of the organization’s military component.
According to the website of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, among other things, the Council of Ministers of Defence approved the 2023 CSTO Plan for Joint Training of the Collective Security Command Bodies and Formations of Forces and Assets, which includes, in particular, the conduct of joint exercises with the CSTO Collective Security Forces.
The Council also adopted documents on improving the command of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) and the draft decision of the Collective Security Council on the joint formation of chemical, biological and radiological protection and medical support. The document outlines the formation’s tasks upon deployment in the territory of a CSTO Member State and the procedure for providing it with weapons, military and special equipment.
The Council of Ministers of Defence adopted a decision to grant the status of base research organization of the CSTO Member States for research into the development of electronic warfare to the Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.
The Academy and Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were also granted status of base educational and methodological organizations for training military experts in electronic warfare for the CSTO Member States.
Participants of the conference included heads of the defence ministries of the Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, as well as Stanislav Zas, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and Anatoly Sidorov, Head of the CSTO Joint Staff.