DUSHANBE, October 6, Asia-Plus — “Today’s summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) should be efficient and give a serious impulse to further expansion of our interaction,” CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha remarked at a meeting with journalists in Dushanbe on October 6.
He noted that last year had been very fruitful for the CSTO as foundation had been laid for resolving many serious issues.
“First of all, it is a decision on formation of the peacekeeping forces,” the CSTO secretary general said.
The CSTO heads of state will consider resolution facilitating military-technical cooperation of the armed forces, law enforcement agencies, interior and border troops.
“We will also submit to the summit a number of draft agreements on military-economic cooperation concerning development and production of military hardware, joint exhibition activity,” said the secretary general, “Special attention is paid to raising potentials of the law enforcement agencies.”
The CSTO leaders will also consider draft agreements on preferred treatment for military hardware supplies, cooperation in mitigating effects of natural and anthropogenic disasters, regulation of labor migration and countering illegal migration.
One of the most important issues to be discussed at the summit will be resolution on restoration of Uzbekistan’s membership of the CSTO, the secretary general said.
In the framework of Commonwealth of Independent States the CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992, by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Azerbaijan likewise signed the treaty on September 24, 1993, Georgia on December 9, 1993 and Belarus on December 31, 1993. The treaty came into effect on April 20, 1994.
The treaty reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force. Signatories wouldn”t be able to join other military alliances or other groups of states, while an aggression against one signatory would be perceived as an aggression against all.
The CST was set to last for a 5-year period unless extended. On April 2, 1999, the Presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, signed a protocol renewing the treaty for another five year period — however Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to sign and withdrew from the treaty instead (at the same time Uzbekistan joined the GUAM group, established in 1997 by Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine and largely seen as intending to counter Russian influence in the region).
On October 7, 2002, the six members of the CST signed a charter in Chisinau, Moldova, expanding it and renaming to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Nikolai Bordyuzha was appointed secretary general of the new organization.
During 2005, the CSTO partners have conducted some common military exercises. In 2005, Uzbekistan withdrew from GUAM and began to seek closer ties with Russia. On June 23, 2006, Vladimir Putin announced that Uzbekistan became a full-member of the CSTO.
In June 2007, Kyrgyzstan assumed the rotating CSTO presidency.
The CSTO is an observer organization at the United Nations General Assembly
