In Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, which presides over the Collective Security Treaty Organization this year, a session of the Collective Security Council (Collective Security Council) of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) opens on November 28. It is attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbai Jeenbekov, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmon.
According to the Kremlin’s press service, during the meeting “it is planned to consider key topics of allied interaction within the organization, as well as exchange views on pressing regional and international problems.”
A number of topics are expected to be discussed in a narrow composition, CSTO spokesman Vladimir Zainetdinov told reporters. This is primarily about security issues in the area of responsibility of the organization.
Recall that in 2020, Russia will become the country chairing the CSTO.
"Stabilizing factor"
On the eve of the SKB session, on November 27, a joint meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the Organization was held, in which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also participated.
“We concentrated on the tasks of strengthening the CSTO’s potential in various fields, reviewed draft documents that are submitted to the Collective Security Council tomorrow for consideration by the heads of state. The package is solid, ”said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
According to Sergey Lavrov, the most important documents expected to be adopted at the summit include a draft joint statement by the leaders of the CSTO countries. It will be devoted to improving the cooperation of the member states, the purpose of which is to strengthen stability in the world. The Russian Foreign Minister noted that in conditions “when global security is seriously shaken”, it is important to respect international agreements that make up “an array of modern international law based on the UN Charter”.
- Vladimir Putin at one of the CSTO meetings
- kremlin.ru
Among other issues that will be considered at the meeting of the Special Design Bureau, Sergey Lavrov mentioned countering new challenges and threats, an action plan to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, as well as the adoption of an action program to implement the UN global counter-terrorism strategy for 2019-2021 and proposals for improving the work of the CSTO in the suppression of crimes in the information sphere.
Cooperation between the countries of the organization in the field of combating cybercrime has been going on for ten years. Since 2009, within the framework of the CSTO, the operation “PROXI” (“Countering crime in the field of information”) has been implemented.
“The CSTO format is very important in the post-Soviet space. It allows you to exchange information, weapons, maintain a brotherhood in arms, a system for training military personnel, uniform military standards and a common command language, ”Yuri Solozobov, director of international projects at the Russian National Strategy Institute, noted in a commentary on RT.
However, the expert drew attention to the fact that the CSTO has not yet become an analogue of the Warsaw Pact.
“So far, the organization can be compared to a squadron that goes at the speed of a small ship. Uzbekistan is either a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, or is quitting. Belarus participates in the organization with reservations. Therefore, the question constantly arises of how effective the CSTO is as a military tool, ”Solozobov said.
However, all these nuances, according to the expert, do not detract from the importance of the organization as a "stabilizing factor in the territory of the former USSR."
“If there were no CSTO, there would be a disconnecting vacuum,” Solozobov said.
- CSTO Headquarters
- © Collective Security Treaty Organization
Afghan issue
As Sergey Lavrov emphasized, special attention at the CSTO summit will be given to Central Asia and, in particular, to Afghan issues.
“A huge number of problems are accumulating in this country, the situation is not becoming easier,” the Russian minister said.
On Afghan territory, IG * activity is increasing. Sergey Lavrov noted that the current situation is aggravated by the fact that there are many foreign terrorist fighters in Afghanistan.
“They even before the Americans staged obscure games in northeast Syria, penetrated into Afghanistan, as well as other countries, from Syria, as well as from Libya. And in Afghanistan they are digging in quite seriously, there are several thousand of them, these are Igilovites, ”the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.
The Minister emphasized that in connection with this, the Collective Security Treaty Organization is taking measures to equip the border points of Tajikistan, to combat terrorism, the drug threat and illegal migration.
“The threat of destabilizing the situation in the Tajik-Afghan border is very high. Americans will leave Afghanistan in the foreseeable future. After that, you can expect anything. Unfortunately, with the threat emanating from the territory of Afghanistan, it is extremely difficult to do something. But you have to do it, ”said Alexander Khramchikhin, deputy director of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis, in an interview with RT.
To solve the problem of ensuring the security of the former Soviet borders, Russia will need to work closely with its allies, experts say.
“The countries of Central Asia have a different attitude to the prospects for the development of the situation in areas bordering Afghanistan. Although the Russian Federation traditionally believes that the Tajik-Afghan border is the key to ensuring the security of the Central Asian region, and even the entire post-Soviet space, its allies have a different opinion on this subject. They believe that the threat certainly exists, but it is not so serious as it seems from Moscow, ”Solozobov says.
He believes that in order to resolve issues related to the security of areas bordering Afghanistan, Russia and other CSTO countries will have to interact with the states of the region that are not members of this organization.
“Here you need to listen to the point of view of Uzbekistan, the country militarily the most powerful of all the states of Central Asia. If Uzbekistan, together with the CSTO, ensures the security of the former Soviet borders, then everything will work out, ”Solozobov believes.
At the same time, he considers it unlikely that official Tashkent will decide to join the organization. The expansion of the CSTO, in his opinion, is not an urgent issue now.
“For the time being, organizations need to develop towards building a clear military structure. There should be even more real cases, ”Solozobov believes.
An important stage in deepening cooperation between the CSTO countries is joint exercises, analysts say. They are held including on Tajik territory. So, from October 21 to 29, 2019, at the Harb-Maidon training ground, maneuvers “Unbreakable Brotherhood - 2019” were held - exercises of the collective forces of the rapid deployment of the Central Asian region and the collective peacekeeping forces of the CSTO.
The scenario of the exercise provided for an operation against a conditional adversary: terrorist groups that broke through the Tajik border from Afghanistan. At the second stage, a joint peacekeeping operation was carried out by the joint efforts of six countries, the purpose of which was to prevent further attacks by bandit groups.
The fact that the threat from the radicals in the region is growing is evidenced by the events of the beginning of the month. On the night of November 6, an armed group of 20 masked men attacked the Ishkobod border outpost on the Tajik-Uzbek border about 50 kilometers from Dushanbe. According to the press service of the Border Troops Directorate of the State Committee for National Security (GKNB), the attackers were ISIS fighters who arrived from Afghanistan.
* “Islamic State” (ISIS, ISIS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.