DUSHANBE, September 15, 2008, Asia-Plus — Formation a military formation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Central Asia would strengthen dominating influence in the region that would create one more obstacle on the way of the United States and the NATO penetration of the region, Tajik political scientist Parviz Mullojonov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
“In perspective, formation of such group will be profitable for Tajikistan because it will an additional guarantee of providing regional stability and security in the case of worsening of the situation in neighboring Afghanistan, but only if it does not require considerable financing for Tajikistan for participation in this group,” the expert said.
Mullojonov also stressed that the group should be used for protection of states against any outside security threat but not for interference into their domestic affairs.
He also noted that an idea to form such group had appeared in the mid1990s already but it had not be realized because of shortage of financial resources. Moreover, not all countries of the region had supported this idea that time.
“Financial resources and opportunities have increased and I think there are no any obstacles now for formation of the group,” Mullojonov noted.
We will recall that the CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha on September 12 announced at a press conference in Moscow that the CSTO intends to form a five-sided group in the Central Asian region for political deterrence.
“If all parties concerned agree, we are going to have a five- sided group in the Central Asian region – four Central Asia’s states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and Russia,” the secretary general said.
According to him, the Organization supposes to have quite a large group that would include not just small but also large units. “It means the level of brigades, regiments and divisions,” Bordyuzha noted.
The group is dedicated to secure political control over the situation in the region even if the situation in Afghanistan escalates, he said.
“This group should be prepared to repel any threat to the sovereignty of our states,” Bordyuzha said, adding that the core of the group will be a CSTO Rapid Deployment Force, which would consist of ten battalions.
The regional security organization 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 members 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.
