Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has left for the Armenian capital Yerevan to attend the session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (SCTO) that will take place there on October 14.
According to the Tajik president’s official website, Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov, Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo, Security Council Secretary Abdurahim Qahhorov, Presidential Adviser for Foreign Policy Issues Azamsho Sharifi, and some other officials are accompanying the president on his trip to Yerevan.
Presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan will participate in the CSTO summit in Yerevan
Meanwhile, Kazakh president’s office notes that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has canceled a visit to Armenia due to a cold. There are no concerns about Nazarbayev’s overall health, the office added.
Kazakh president’s office noted on Tuesday that Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev will travel to Armenia instead of President Nazarbayev.
CSTO summit participants will discuss issues related to the current situation in the CSTO area of responsibility and further improvement of the Organization collective security system, including the collective security strategy designed for the period until 2025.
They will also discuss the document regarding additional measures to combat terrorism.
The summit participants are also expected to make a decision on the Secretary General of the CSTO.
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.
