President Emomali Rahmon departed for Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, today morning to attend a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Collective Security Council that is being held there today.
Some sources say that accompanied by a high-level Emomali Rahmon will deliver a statement at the summit and is expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings.
The Tajik president’s official website says foreign minister, presidential aide for international affairs, defense minister, Security Council secretary and some other officials are accompanying the president on his visit to Astana.
The summit will be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, and CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry says CIS Secretary-General Sergey Lebedev and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary-General Zhang Ming have been invited to attend the CSTO summit.
The report does not mention anything about the participation of Armenian representatives.
It is worth recalling that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview broadcast on February 22 that Armenia has suspended its participation in the Russian-led security bloc
"The collective security agreement, in our opinion, was not implemented in relation to Armenia, especially in 2021-2022. This could not remain without our attention. We suspended our participation in this agreement. Let’s see what happens next," said he. "We have now in practical terms frozen our participation in this treaty. As for what comes next, we shall have to see."
Belarusian BelTA reports that the leaders of the countries are set to exchange views on the international and regional situation, its impact on the security of the CSTO member states, discuss the cooperation and prospects for the further development of the collective security system.
The CSTO Collective Security Council will adopt a program for securing the Tajik-Afghan border at the CSTO summit in Astana, CSTO Secretary-General Imangali Tasmagambetov announced in an interview with Belarusian TV channel STV on November 25. Tasmagambetov noted that Afghan-related issues remain one of the CSTO’s key areas of focus.
Following the summit, the parties plan to sign a number of documents. Among them is a statement in connection with the upcoming 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
