On the agenda of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is the question of establishing dialogue and cooperation with China to maintain security and stability in the region.

This was stated by the press secretary of the organization Vladimir Zainetdinov.

“We believe that interaction must be built on the basis of the generally recognized principles of international law, in accordance with the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter, as well as the CSTO Charter,” TASS quoted him as saying.

According to Zainetdinov, the CSTO secretariat welcomes the statement by Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which he confirmed Beijing's intention to continue flexible and multifaceted cooperation with Russia and other countries of the organization.

Recall, the head of the PRC announced this during negotiations with Vladimir Putin, which took place via video communication on December 15.

In turn, Yuri Ushakov, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation for International Affairs, said that the leaders discussed "literally all pressing and important problems."

The Russian leader, during a conversation with Xi Jinping, called relations between Moscow and Beijing a model of interstate cooperation in the 21st century.

Putin also noted that the coordination of efforts between Russia and China makes a significant contribution to maintaining stability in the world.

“Close coordination by Russia and China of their actions in the world arena, a responsible joint approach to solving urgent world problems have become a significant factor of stability in international relations,” the president said.

He stressed that a new model of cooperation has been formed between the two states, which is based, among other things, on such foundations as non-interference in internal affairs and respect for each other's interests.

For his part, Xi Jinping said that he is looking forward to a face-to-face meeting with the Russian leader when he arrives in Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Collective security

Recall that the CSTO appeared in 2002, and it was based on the Collective Security Treaty of 1992, signed by several former republics of the USSR.

Now the organization includes six countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

Earlier, Uzbekistan was also a party to the agreement, but its membership was suspended in 2012.

Among the goals of the organization is to reflect threats to security, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty of its members, as well as to respond to challenges to international security.

At the same time, the CSTO does not interfere in the political processes of its member countries.

An attack on one of the CSTO members is viewed as aggression against the rest of the organization, and military-political relations between the member states are of a priority nature.

At the same time, the organization has repeatedly stated that it is open for cooperation with other countries.

So, in 2015, Nikolai Bordyuzha, who was then CSTO Secretary General, spoke about this.

“The CSTO is ready to consider the application of any country, whether it will be Pakistan, Iran, China, Azerbaijan, Georgia ... However, the decisive factor for us will be the awareness of such a decision and the readiness of the state to practically act in the field of security on a collective basis.

This should be not just a political step, after which nothing happens, but a well-thought-out decision, ”he said.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced in May 2020 that the CSTO has a consensus on granting observer status to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

According to the minister, individual states are also showing interest in cooperation with the CSTO.

  • Meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Dushanbe

  • RIA News

  • © Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

The head of Russian diplomacy also expressed the opinion that the states neighboring with the CSTO region would be interested in the work of the organization.

“Moreover, such topics as the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime will certainly be of interest to the Central Asian countries that are not members of the CSTO,” he said.

New challenges

From the point of view of experts, the activities of the CSTO have acquired particular relevance against the background of recent events in Afghanistan, after last summer the United States and its allies, after a 20-year presence, began to hastily withdraw their military contingent from this country.

As a result, the Taliban * launched an offensive against the positions of government forces.

Afghan security forces retreated, including to neighboring Tajikistan.

The situation has led to increased tensions at the border.

At a meeting of the permanent council of the association on July 7, the permanent representative of Dushanbe to the CSTO Khasan Sultonov officially asked the organization to help strengthen the border with Afghanistan.

Since then, the base of the RF Armed Forces in the country has been reinforced with new equipment, and the Russian military conducted a series of operational exercises with the military of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

So, in October in Tajikistan, at the Harbmaidon training ground, the "Combat Brotherhood - 2021" exercises were held, which included the "Echelon", "Search" and "Interaction" operations.

Then in November, near Kazan, the exercises of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) "Indestructible Brotherhood - 2021" were held.

Analysts remind that over the years of its existence, the CSTO has developed a certain common foreign policy line.

So, a military expert, senior research fellow at the Higher School of Economics Vasily Kashin, in an interview with RT, recalled that the organization already has a channel of dialogue and interaction with China.

“There is a memorandum of understanding with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, where China plays a leading role.

In this capacity, the CSTO has already had interaction with Beijing, ”the expert noted.

He believes that further communication between the CSTO and the PRC will be built taking into account the situation in Central Asia and Afghanistan.

“China's statements about its readiness to cooperate with the CSTO are linked to the state of affairs in Central Asia and Afghanistan.

In fact, this work has already been carried out, it just went more through the SCO and concerned increasing the capabilities of the Central Asian states in defense against various terrorist threats, including those emanating from Afghanistan, ”Kashin explained.

He believes that more active involvement of China in the activities of the CSTO can contribute to the stabilization of the region.

A similar assessment was presented in an interview with RT by Nikita Danyuk, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia.

“China's close interaction with the CSTO countries and constant contacts at the level of military-political departments and institutions of Russia and China indicate that Beijing is extremely interested in making the Eurasian space as stable, predictable and secure as possible.

Russia, given its potential and experience in countering extremist, terrorist and other threats, is the best partner for China, "the political scientist emphasized.

From his point of view, cooperation with China in the context of difficult relations with the West is acquiring special relevance in the sphere of Russia's foreign policy interests.

“China has never given any doubts about its interest in stable, predictable, good-neighborly relations.

The heads of state have repeatedly noted that relations between the Russian Federation and the PRC are an example of cooperation between countries that have their own national interests, ”concluded Danyuk.

* The organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.