Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu will arrive in Dushanbe tomorrow for participation in the next meeting of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers.
A source at the Tajik Ministry of Defense says defense ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are expected to participate in the upcoming meeting in Dushanbe.
Tajikistan’s defense ministry will inform defense ministries of other CIS member nations about the current situation along Tajikistan’s common border with Afghanistan and its influence on the regional security.
“Representative of Tajikistan will report on the current military and political situation on the CIS southern borders and its influence on security in the Central Asian region,” the CIS Executive Committee press center says.
In all, more than twenty issues have been tabled to the meeting’s agenda.
Established on December 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization. It now consists of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. Georgia pulled out of the organization in 2009.
In 1992, the CIS Charter establishes the Council of Ministers of Defense, which is vested with the task of coordinating military cooperation of the CIS member states. To this end, the Council develops conceptual approaches to the questions of military and defense policy of the CIS member states; develops proposals aimed to prevent armed conflicts on the territory of the member states or with their participation; gives expert opinions on draft treaties and agreements related to the questions of defense and military developments; issues related suggestions and proposals to the attention of the CIS Council of the Heads of State. Also important is the Council’s work on approximation of the legal acts in the area of defense and military development.
