DUSHANBE, May 27, 2016, Asia-Plus — Deputy interior ministers from member nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) met in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, on May 26 to discuss joint efforts to address new criminal challenges posing threat to the collective security of the Organization member nations, according to the CSTO press service.
The meeting participants included CSTO Secretary-General Nikolai Bordyuzha, Armenian Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan, Belarusian Deputy Interior Minister Yuri Karayev, Kazakh Deputy Interior Minister Yerlan Turgumbayev, Kyrgyz Deputy Interior Minister Kursan Asanov, Russian Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov, and Tajik Deputy Interior Minister Abdurahmon Alamshozoda.
The meeting participants reportedly reached an agreement to prepare for signing an agreement on jointly addressing new criminal challenges, including terrorism, international crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, mass riots and other actions infringing on public order and security of citizens.
CSTO Secretary-General Nikolai Bordyuzha delivered a statement on additional measures to counter international terrorism and extremism within the CSTO area of responsibility.
The meeting participants also discussed cooperation between the CSTO member nations in training personnel for their interior ministries, working out mechanism of cooperation between the law enforcement agencies and special services, etc.
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 that suspended its membership in 1999 returned to the CSTO again in 2006 after it came under international criticism for its brutal crackdown of antigovernment demonstrations in the eastern city of Andijon in May 2005. On June 28, 2012, Uzbekistan announced that it has suspended its membership of the CSTO, saying the organization ignores Uzbekistan and does not consider its views. The CSTO is currently an observer organization at the United Nations General Assembly.
