The first battalion of "peacekeeping forces" was sent to Kazakhstan.. What do you know about the Collective Security Treaty Organization?

The Russian-sponsored "Collective Security Treaty Organization" (CSTO) announced that Moscow sent today, Thursday, January 6, 2022, the first battalion of "peacekeeping forces" at the request of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

According to a statement by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - who chairs the organization - the organization's Security Council decided to send peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan for a specified period in accordance with Article 4 of the Collective Security Agreement, with the aim of restoring stability in it.

And yesterday, Wednesday, Kazakh President Kassym-Jommert Tokayev announced that he had asked for help from the leaders of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) due to the current situation in the country.

Tokayev confirmed - in a press statement - that he asked for help from the leaders of the member states of the organization to restore order in his country within the framework of the agreement between the member states.

So what is the CSTO?

And what are its member states?

And when was it founded?

What is the nature of the charter that you adopt?

What about the most prominent crises in which it has intervened since its inception until now?

Establishment, Protocol and Path

May 15, 1992: 6 post-Soviet CIS countries, namely Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan sign the Collective Security Treaty (also referred to as the Tashkent Pact or the Tashkent Treaty) .

1993: The treaty was signed by 3 post-Soviet states, namely Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia.

April 20, 1994: The treaty enters into force.

November 1, 1995: The treaty was adopted by the United Nations Secretariat.

The headquarters of the organization is located in the Russian capital, Moscow, and it has a permanent general secretariat, while the member states rotate in chairing the group, and the presidential term lasts for one year.

1997: Uzbekistan simultaneously joined the GUAM organization, founded by Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova, which is widely seen as aimed at countering Russian influence in the region.

- During the events of the fall of 1996 and summer of 1998 due to the dangerous development of the situation in Afghanistan near the borders of the Central Asian countries that are members of the organization, the provisions of the treaty were implemented to prevent attempts by Taliban and ISIS elements to destabilize the situation in the region.

April 2, 1999: Only 6 members signed a protocol renewing the treaty for another 5 years.

3 countries withdraw

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to sign the treaty and withdrew from it.

1999-2000: As a result of effective measures implemented by the member states of the organization with the participation of Uzbekistan, the threat posed by the large-scale actions of armed groups in southern Kyrgyzstan and elsewhere in Central Asia was neutralized.

The seventh of October 2002: the signing of the charter of the organization by the heads of all member states.

December 2, 2004: The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution granting the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) observer status in the General Assembly.

2005: Uzbekistan withdrew from GUAM.

2006: Uzbekistan rejoined the CSTO as a full member.

May 2007: The Secretary-General of the organization, Nikolai Bordyova, suggested the possibility of Iran joining the organization, saying, "The CSTO is an open organization. If Iran agrees to implement our charter, we will consider its application."

If Iran joined the organization, it would be the only country outside the former Soviet Union.

October 6, 2007: At their summit in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, the OIC countries signed more than 20 joint documents, most notably linking the organization to the Shanghai Security Cooperation Organization, chaired by China and including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, while India, Mongolia, Iran and Pakistan enjoy as an observer.

- During the summit, the heads of the member states of the Collective Security Organization signed a protocol that includes a mechanism for providing military-technical assistance to the member states of the organization, in the event of a threat of aggression against them, or in the event of actual aggression against them.

As for the practical issues of providing such assistance during the occurrence of aggression, they are tested through joint military exercises organized by the chiefs of staff at 3 levels;

Strategic, operational and tactical.

March 28, 2008: The Uzbek parliament ratifies its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

"Rapes 2008" exercises

July 2008: The first phase of the maneuvers took place in Armenia under the name "RAPIES 2008", during which 4,000 soldiers from all seven member countries of the organization conducted practical, strategic and tactical exercises with a focus on enhancing the efficiency of the collective security component of the CSTO partnership, then The second stage took place in Moscow.

- The third and fourth phases involved the forces stationed at the Russian military base 102 located on the Armenian territory, as well as Armenian forces and forces belonging to other member states.

- June 14, 2009: The summit of the organization was held in Moscow, in the middle of Belarus boycotting its meetings as a result of the growing political differences with Russia following the ban it imposed on Belarusian dairy products.

- The summit discussed plans for a rapid reaction force that could enhance the strength and prestige of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

- December 10, 2010: Member states announce the establishment of a peacekeeping force affiliated with the organization, in addition to signing a package of joint documents.

2011: The largest such exercises took place in southern Russia and Central Asia and involved more than 10,000 soldiers and 70 combat aircraft.

June 28, 2012: Uzbekistan suspended its membership in the organization after agreeing with the United States to receive equipment that Washington will transfer from Afghanistan in exchange for encouraging contracts for maintenance and ammunition.

2013: Afghanistan and Serbia were accepted as observers to the organization.

- September 23, 2013: The OIC summit was held in the Russian resort of Sochi on the Black Sea, to discuss a number of files, top of which was the Syrian issue and the Afghanistan file.

August 2014: 3,000 soldiers from member states participated in psychological warfare and cyber warfare exercises in Kazakhstan, as part of a war maneuver run by the organization.

- March 19, 2015: The Secretary-General of the Organization, Nikolai Bordioza, offered to send a peacekeeping mission to Donbass in Ukraine, saying, "We are ready to provide peacekeeping units if the United Nations takes such a decision."

July 2021: Tajikistan appeals to members of the organization to help deal with security challenges arising from neighboring Afghanistan, where thousands of Afghans, including police and government forces, fled to Tajikistan after the Taliban took control of many parts of Afghanistan.

September 16, 2021: The OIC summit held in Tajikistan approved a plan for action in the event of a deterioration of the situation on Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan, and announced the holding of large-scale military exercises for its forces in October 2021 near that border.

The goals..political and military

According to observers, Moscow is seeking, through the organization, to restore the glories of the Warsaw Pact and confront the aspirations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The organization seeks to achieve a number of goals in the political and military fields, most notably:

Ensuring collective security and defending the sovereignty, independence and unity of the territories of member states.

Military cooperation and maintaining peace and security in the region.

Fighting terrorism and organized crime, and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

The charter of the organization stipulates that member states refrain from using force or threats among themselves, and from joining other military alliances.

It also stipulated that an attack on any member of the group is considered an attack on the rest of the members.

The charter of the organization also stipulates that in the event of the establishment of a system of collective security in Europe and Asia, and the conclusion of collective security treaties to achieve the purpose of the establishment of the organization, the member states will enter into immediate consultations with each other with a view to making the necessary amendments to this treaty.

The parties to the treaty face many challenges, including unifying the position regarding the militarization of the agreement, which is the goal that Russia seeks to achieve in order to confront the ambitions of the "NATO" alliance and besiege its aspirations in the Asian continent.

- The Russian endeavor raised many fears among some parties to the treaty, which saw it as an attempt to revive the Warsaw Pact and restrict its options and sovereign policies.