The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan, Lieutenant-General Emomali Sobirzoda, who is also the Frist Deputy Minister of Defense of Tajikistan, attended the next session of the Military Committee of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that took place in Moscow on April 14.
Presided over by Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation – First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Army-General Valery Gerasimov, the session reportedly brought together Chiefs of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to discuss issues related to challenges and threats in the East European, Caucasian and Central Asian regions, joint management training activities, formation of CSTO collective security system forces and means, activities of the CSTO Crisis Response Center and formation of a joint subunit of radiation, chemical and biological protection and medical support.
A source at the Ministry of Defense e of Tajikistan (MoD) says Emomali Sobirzoda briefed members of the CSTO Military Committee on priorities of the CSTO activities in the military sphere offered by Tajikistan during its rotating chairmanship in the Organization in 2021.
Meanwhile, the press center of the Central Military District of the Russian Federation notes that while opening the session, Army General Valery Gerasimov noted that Russia counts on expansion of military cooperation within the Organization.
He reportedly expressed gratitude to the meeting participants for the fact that, despite the continuing difficult epidemiological situation, they arrived in Moscow.
“We hope that this will be a good sign for stepping up military cooperation within the framework of the CSTO, and the results of the session will serve to further expansion of the interaction between our defense departments,” Russia high-ranking military official said.
The session of the CSTO Military Committee was reportedly held behind closed doors.
The Military Committee was established at the Council of Ministers of Defense of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in accordance with clause 15 of the Regulations on the Council of Ministers of Defense of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, approved by the Decision of the Collective Security Council on April 28, 2003, in order to expeditiously consider the issues of planning and use of forces and means of the collective security system of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
In its activities, the Military Committee is guided by generally recognized principles and norms of international law, the Collective Security Treaty of May 15, 1992, the Charter of the CSTO of October 7, 2002, decisions of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO, the Council of Ministers of Defense and other regulatory acts governing the activities of the Organization, bilateral and multilateral international agreements on cooperation in the military sphere, of which the CSTO member states are parties.
The members of the Military Committee are the Chiefs of the General Staffs of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan as well as the Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff.
The Military Committee is headed by the Chairman of the Military Committee – the Chief of the General Staff (First Deputy Chief of the General Staff) of the armed forces of a member of the Organization presiding over the CSTO Collective Security Council, unless the Military Committee decides otherwise.
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.
