A joint meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers and the Committee of Security Council Secretaries of member nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) took place in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on November 30.
Tajikistan was represented by Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov, Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo and Security Council Secretary Abdurahim Qahhorov.
The meeting participants discussed a broad range of issues related to international and regional security as well as cooperation within the framework of the CSTO, according to the Tajik MFA information department.
The meeting participants also reviewed the documents prepared for the upcoming CSTO summit in Minsk.
Besides, they exchanged views on the status of implementation of the decisions adopted by the CSTO Collective Security Council and discussed practical aspects of the interaction.
The meeting proceeded a session of the CSTO Collective Security Council that is also being held in Minsk today.
The Collective Security Council comprises the heads of state of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
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.
