COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY ORGANIZATION (CSTO)
Participants: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Background
The basis for the creation of the CSTO was provided by the Collective Security Treaty signed on May 15, 1992 by Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 1993 Azerbaijan, Moldova and Ukraine joined the Treaty as observers.
In 1999 Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan withdrew from the Collective Security Treaty. Ukraine and Moldova have also lost their interest in military integration.
At the Summit of the CIS countries in Chisinau on October 7, 2002 the remaining participants (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan) established a new body - the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On December 26, 2003 the CSTO was registered in the UN as a regional international organization.
On 22 June, 2006 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov handed his functions as the CSTO Сhairman over to his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Martynov. Sergei Martynov said, “Belarus will initiate the CSTO development into a multiple-format Organization, which will be relevant to confront present-day challenges”.
On June 23, 2006 Uzbekistan lifted the moratorium on the active participation in the CSTO and became a full member of this Organization.
On October 6, 2007, the 15th CSTO summit took place in Dushanbe (Tajikistan). The main result of the summit is the decision that the CSTO member states can buy the Russian weapons and equipment for their armed forces and special services at the Russian domestic prices. The Memorandum on Cooperation between the CSTO and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) was signed at the summit.
On March 28, 2008 the Uzbekistan's Parliament ratified a document formally restoring the Central Asian state's membership in the orgnization, which was suspended in 1999.
On June 14, 2009 Moscow hosted the CSTO summit. The main item of the summit agenda was the agreement on creation of Collective Quick Reaction Forces. This agreement was signed by all the CSTO member states except Uzbekistan and Belarus. In particular Tashkent came out for prohibition of getting Collective Quick Reaction Forces involved in settlement of the CSTO member states conflicts and against the agreement use till the document is ratified by all six countries. Belarus refused to take part in the summit and said that it considered the summit decisions to be illegitimate.
Some experts suppose that the creation of the CSTO reflected Russia's intention to prevent NATO further expansion to the East and to keep some CIS countries under the Russia’s military patronage. When the USA and NATO counterterrorism operation began in Afghanistan the main purpose of the CSTO activity had become the fight against international terrorism in Central Asia.
Major Objectives
According to the Charter, the CSTO’s major objectives are as follows: assurance of peace, preservation of territorial integrity and sovereignty of the member states, coordination of activities in the fight against international terrorism and extremism, illicit drug trafficking and the organized international crimes. One of the fundamental articles of the Charter states that the member states are obliged to provide immediate military assistance to a CSTO participant in case of military threat.
Based on these objectives, the CSTO takes measures to create coalition military groupings and supply them with the equipment required.
The CSTO member states devote their special attention to the creation of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF). The Moscow Joint Headquarters is responsible for the operational command of the CRRF. It is also decided to form the CRRF regional commands in Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan.
Presently, the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF) have at their disposal 1.5 thousand of military personnel (3 battalions deployed in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan), the battalion groups of the Russian military base in Tajikistan and the air group of the Russian air base in Kant (Kyrgyzstan).
Managing Bodies
The Collective Security Council(CSC) is the CSTO supreme managing bodyformed by heads of state of the CSTO countries. Between the CSC sessions all the coordination and implementation matters are supervised by the Permanent Council which consists of plenipotentiaries of the member states of the CSTO.
TheCouncil of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (CMFA) and the Council of Ministers of Defense (CMD) are consultative and executive bodies of the CSTO.The CMD comprises the Joint Headquarters, the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils (CSSC).
The Secretariat is astanding body of the CSTO which is responsible for providing managerial, research and consultative assurance for the CSTO. The Secretariat comprises the Political Cooperation Department, the Military Cooperation Department, the Challenges and Threats Counteraction Department.
Documents
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The Collective Security Treaty (CST) signed on May 15, 1992
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The CSTO Charter
- The Agreement on Legal Status of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
- The Agreement on Status of Forces and Resources of the Collective Security System
- The Agreement on General Principles of Military-Technical Cooperation between the Member States of the CST
Personalities
Nikolay Bordyuzha, the CSTO Secretary General
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