DUSHANBE, December 1, 2009, Asia-Plus — An informal meeting of foreign ministers of member nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is taking place in Athens, Greece on sidelines of the 17th OSCE Ministerial Council that is opening there today, according to the CSTO Secretariat.
The CSTO foreign ministers are discussing issues related to coordination of the CSTO states’ positions on the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting’s agenda and exchanging views on the topical problems related to the CSTO activity.
The CSTO is the regional security organization that now groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
It was initially formed in 1992 for a five-year period by the members of the CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) — Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which were joined by Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Belarus the following year. A 1994 treaty reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force, and prevented signatories from joining any other military alliances or other groups of states directed against member states. The CST was then extended for another five-year term in April 1999, and was signed by the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. In October 2002, the group was renamed as the CSTO. Uzbekistan joined the organization in 2006.
In the meantime, the 17th OSCE Ministerial Council is taking place in Athens on December 1-2. The event is held at the invitation of the 2009 Chairman-in-Office, Greek Prime Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou.
The Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. The meeting, held annually, provides the foreign ministers of the 56 OSCE participating States an opportunity to review and assess the Organization”s activities during the past year and offer national viewpoints on security matters.
