Which countries are included in the CSTO. There are no alternatives: the history and prospects of the CSTO
Russia and the CSTO countries intend to form a single list of organizations considered terrorist. Such a decision is planned to be taken at the CSTO summit in Yerevan on October 14, Yury Ushakov, aide to the President of the Russian Federation, told reporters.
According to him, the summit will adopt a document "On the regulation on the formation of a single list of organizations recognized as terrorist in the CSTO format." "That is, here the procedure for the formation and maintenance of a single list is determined, the interested party makes a proposal to recognize this or that organization as a terrorist organization, and the corresponding decision of the CSTO member states is made on the basis of a decision of the judiciary," the aide to the Russian leader explained. He stressed that it is planned to sign 24 documents following the results of the summit. The first among them, the Kremlin spokesman called the decision on the strategy collective security until 2025.
"Here, the priority of political means in ensuring security is fixed, it is noted that terrorism, extremism, recruitment into the ranks of these organizations, incitement of interethnic, interethnic and interfaith conflicts, the use of information technologies in order to have a destructive impact on the situation in states- members," he said.
According to Ushakov, the document "external threats include instability and unresolved conflicts in neighboring states, activities to undermine the balance of power, including the unilateral deployment of missile defense, building up the capabilities of concepts global strike proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, activities to disorganize state power and change the constitutional order in the CSTO member states.
Ushakov also said that "tasks against the backdrop of these threats have been defined - greater coordination of positions on international and regional problems, improving the defense capability of member states, increasing the combat readiness and combat capability of the armed forces, building up military-technical cooperation, developing cooperation in countering terrorism, organized crime and illegal drug trafficking, improving cooperation on border protection".
Another document will be a list of additional measures to counter international terrorism and extremism in the CSTO format. "This document is important, but it is of a closed nature," Ushakov said.
According to him, it is planned to adopt a Statement of Heads of State at the summit, which reflects common approaches to the main challenges and threats of our time. "In particular, the readiness of the CSTO states to build relations with all members of the world community on the basis of equality is emphasized," the aide to the Russian leader said. He added that "most of the documents are devoted to Syria, the fight against terrorism, and the conviction is expressed that there is no alternative to the Minsk agreements (on a settlement in Ukraine)."
Ushakov noted that the CSTO leaders intend to adopt a separate Statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a Statement on the impact of unilateral actions to deploy a global missile defense system on international security and stability, a Statement on ensuring security state borders in the zone of responsibility of the CSTO.
Ushakov said that the presidents of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan would take part in the CSTO summit. The ill President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, according to him, will be replaced by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev.
The summit will open with a closed session, followed by a plenary session and a document signing ceremony. The current CSTO Chairman, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, who will assume the chairmanship of the CSTO, will tell journalists about the results of the summit.
The Kremlin spokesman said that at the meeting in a narrow format, the leaders would discuss "the international situation and topical issues of ensuring security." He added that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will take part in the plenary session from the Russian side. The focus will be on additional measures to counter international terrorism and on the priority areas of the CSTO activities during the presidency of Belarus in 2017.
publishes full version document.
Brief historical background
The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992, six months after the collapse of the USSR. Its main task was to preserve the interaction of the armies of the newly formed independent states in the post-Soviet space.
The founding states were Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 1993, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia joined the agreement.
In 1999, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to renew their membership in the Collective Security Treaty and focused on work in GUAM ( GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) is an anti-Russian organization created in 1997 to establish horizontal ties between the post-Soviet republics in the interests of the United States and the European Union. During the membership of Uzbekistan, the organization was called GUUAM. Currently, GUAM is not an active and really working structure, despite the fact that no formal decision was made to dissolve it, and the Kyiv-based GUAM Secretariat regularly issues press releases in Russian about its work).
In 2002, a decision was made to transform the Collective Security Treaty into a full-fledged international organization.
On October 7, 2002, the Charter and the Agreement on legal status CSTO. The documents on the creation of the CSTO were ratified by all participating countries and on September 18, 2003 they entered into force.
On November 16, 2006, the heads of the parliaments of the CSTO member countries adopted a resolution on the creation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO PA).
In 2009, the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF) was created. Their task is to repel military aggression, conduct special operations to combat international terrorism, transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, as well as eliminate the consequences of emergency situations. CRRF exercises are held on a regular basis.
On December 21, 2015, the heads of the CSTO member states adopted a Statement on Combating International Terrorism, in which they declared their intention to "consistently strengthen the power potential of the CSTO, increase its counter-terrorism component, and increase the combat readiness of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces in order to effectively counter new challenges and threats."
On October 14, 2016, the Collective Security Council (CSC) of the CSTO in Yerevan adopted a decision to approve the Collective Security Strategy until 2025, as well as additional measures to combat terrorism and establish a Crisis Response Center.
Since 2003, the CSTO Secretary General has been Nikolai Bordyuzha.
Elected Chairman of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly on November 24, 2016 Viacheslav Volodin.
CSTO: Birth traumas and irremovable contradictions
The largest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century - the collapse of the Soviet Union - had a particularly serious impact on the ability of states that suddenly and often not of their own free will to maintain an adequate level of security - both external and internal.
If the European post-Soviet republics (with the exception of Moldova, which failed to curb its own nationalists and as a result lost Transnistria) in the early 90s faced a maximum increase in crime, then the Central Asian countries found themselves alone with the threat of international terrorism and religious extremism.
The most serious situation was in Tajikistan, with its long border with Afghanistan. The civil war in this country threatened with extremely serious consequences not only for Tajikistan itself, but also for neighboring countries. That is why Russia, which took over the protection of the Tajik-Afghan border, and Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan actively participated in national reconciliation in the republic.
“The leading figures of Tajikistan have repeatedly noted the important military-political role of the CST in the process of achieving national reconciliation. And now, within the framework of the CSTO, this country is receiving significant political, military and military-technical assistance, ”says the version of the CSTO website that worked until 2012 in the General Information section.
The CSTO was initially focused primarily on solving the problems of maintaining security in Central Asia. A few more quotes from the old version of the organization's website:
“At the initial stage, the Treaty contributed to the creation of the national armed forces of the participating states, to the provision of adequate external conditions for their independent state building. This is evidenced by the relevance of the Treaty in a number of cases of application of its provisions.
The possibilities of the Treaty were activated in the autumn of 1996, in the summer of 1998 in connection with the dangerous development of events in Afghanistan in close proximity to the borders of the Central Asian member states of the Collective Security Treaty, to prevent attempts by extremists to destabilize the situation in this region.
In 1999 and 2000, as a result of promptly implemented measures by the member states of the Collective Security Treaty, with the participation of Uzbekistan, the threat created by large-scale actions of armed groups of international terrorists in southern Kyrgyzstan and other regions of Central Asia was neutralized.
The normative legal acts on the basis of which the CST structures worked are the Declaration of the CST member states adopted in 1995, the Collective Security Concept of the CST member states, the document on the Main Directions for Deepening Military Cooperation, and the plan for implementing the Collective Security Concept and Main Directions for Deepening Military Cooperation.
In 1999, the Plan for the second stage of the formation of a collective security system was approved, which provided for the formation of coalition (regional) groupings of troops (forces) in the Eastern European, Caucasian and Central Asian directions.
In the 1990s, the Collective Security Treaty had no chance of becoming a full-fledged and effective international organization due to a large number claims of its participants to each other.
Armenia and Azerbaijan, both then and now, were, in fact, at war with each other. Georgia, both then and now, accused Russia of “separatism” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, although it should be noted that Moscow in the 1990s pursued a much tougher policy towards unrecognized states than in the 2000s. Abkhazia was actually in an economic blockade, South Ossetia and Transnistria were left to their own devices.
Uzbekistan tried to pursue what Tashkent called a “balanced” policy, but as a result, it simply tossed between Moscow and Washington, either entering the Collective Security Treaty, or moving from there to GUAM, or agreeing to the creation of an American military base, then demanding that the United States immediately leave its territory.
Of course, NATO also has examples of countries that “dislike” each other, such as Greece and Turkey, are members of the alliance, but there has not been such tension, let alone direct clashes between them, as in the case of some former members of the CST, for a long time .
But, perhaps, the main problem of the CST, which was inherited by the CSTO, was the initial rejection of serious attempts to integrate the largest militarily post-Soviet republic after Russia - Ukraine.
Of course, Kyiv and Moscow in the 90s were subjected to serious pressure from the West, the "neutrality" of Ukraine was one of the conditions for the withdrawal nuclear weapons from its territory. But the absence of Ukraine in the defensive alliance created by Russia, of course, laid the foundation for the drift of this country towards NATO and the growing anti-Russian orientation of Ukrainian policy, which reached its climax during the so-called Euromaidan.
The Collective Security Treaty in the form in which it existed in the 1990s could not quickly respond to the challenges of the time, its reform or dissolution was inevitable.
Work on preparations for reformatting the organization began in 2000. An agreement was signed on the basic principles of military-technical cooperation (MTC). In 2001, the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region were created, which were staffed by four battalions from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan total strength in 1500 people.
In parallel, the bodies of political administration and interstate consultations have been improved. The Council of Foreign and Defense Ministers and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils were created. The Secretariat of the CSC was organized, a consultation process was established at the level of the CSC, Ministerial Council of Foreign Ministers and CFR with the participation of deputy ministers of foreign affairs and defense, experts from the participating states, and their plenipotentiaries under the Secretary General of the Collective Security Council.
The decision to transform the Collective Security Treaty into an international regional organization in accordance with Chapter VIII of the UN Charter was taken in Moscow in May 2002 by the heads of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
Neutral Chisinau was chosen as the place for the creation of the CSTO. On October 7, 2002, the capital of Moldova hosted a summit of the CIS heads of state, within the framework of which the heads of the CST member states signed the statutory documents on the transformation of the latter into the CSTO.
Moldova, we note, just like Ukraine, from the very beginning of its independence, refrained from participating in military cooperation with Russia - because of dissatisfaction with the stay Russian troops in Transnistria. The communist who headed this republic in 2002 Vladimir Voronin was considered a "pro-Russian" president until November of the following year, when at the last moment he refused to sign the already initialed document on the Transnistrian settlement, the so-called "Kozak Memorandum". After that, there were no more talks about the possible membership of Moldova in the CSTO.
CSTO in 2002-2016: through contradictions to strengthen the union
In 2002-2003, when the CSTO was created, the main world threat, as now, most countries considered international terrorism. The US was operating in Afghanistan and preparing to invade Iraq. Russian-American relations experienced a period of relative recovery after a sharp deterioration in 1999, when the US and NATO bombed Yugoslavia without UN authorization.
Initially, within the framework of the CSTO, no serious political component was planned, only ensuring the security of the participating countries. Political dialogue in Central Asia was conducted either on the basis of the CIS or within the framework of Shanghai Organization cooperation (SCO), established in 2001 on the basis of the "Shanghai Five", formed as a result of the signing in 1996-1997. confidence-building agreements between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia and Tajikistan in military area. Uzbekistan also joined the SCO. The aims and objectives of the SCO were the strengthening of stability and security in a wide area that unites the participating states, the fight against terrorism, separatism, extremism, drug trafficking, the development of economic cooperation, energy partnership, scientific and cultural interaction.
It should also be emphasized that the CSTO was not seen as an alternative to NATO. The tasks of the organization were security in Central Asia, as well as military-technical cooperation of the participating countries. unrestrained, like cancerous tumor, NATO expansion has never been a role model for the CSTO members.
However, over time, it became clear that cooperation within the executive branch alone was not enough - harmonization of legislation was required to ensure the proper level of interaction.
On June 23, 2006, the Minsk session of the CSTO Collective Security Council determined the need to develop the parliamentary dimension of the CSTO within the framework of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. Based on this decision and on the Convention on the Interparliamentary Assembly of the States Members of the Commonwealth Independent States, the chairmen of the parliaments of the CIS member states of the CSTO at a meeting on November 16, 2006 adopted a resolution on the creation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (PA CSTO).
As stated on the CSTO PA website, “three permanent commissions have been created within the framework of the assembly - on defense and security issues, on political issues and international cooperation, and on socio-economic and legal issues.
In accordance with the Regulations on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the CSTO PA discusses issues of cooperation between the CSTO member states in the international, military-political, legal and other fields and develops appropriate recommendations that it sends to the Collective Security Council (CSC) and other bodies of the CSTO and national parliaments. In addition, the CSTO PA adopts model legislative and other legal acts aimed at regulating relations within the competence of the CSTO, as well as recommendations for convergence of the laws of the CSTO member states and bringing them into line with the provisions of international treaties concluded by these states within the framework of the CSTO."
The full-fledged work of various CSTO structures, unfortunately, has repeatedly been made dependent on the current political or economic situation. For example, negotiations on the creation of a collective rapid reaction force (CRRF), the main fighting force of the CSTO, in June 2009 were overshadowed by the so-called "milk war" between Russia and Belarus. As a result, representatives of Minsk refused to participate in the CSTO meeting under the pretext that military security impossible without economics.
This called into question the legitimacy of the decision to create the CRRF, because, according to paragraph 1 of Rule No. 14 of the Rules of Procedure of the CSTO bodies, approved by the CSC Decision of June 18, 2004, the non-participation of a member country of the organization in meetings of the Collective Security Council, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers , the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils means the absence of the consent of a member country of the organization to the adoption of decisions considered by these bodies.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed a package of documents on the accession of Belarus to the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces only on October 20, 2009.
In June 2010, the President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otumbaeva appealed to the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev with a request to bring the CRRF into the territory of this country in connection with the unrest and interethnic clashes in the Osh and Jalalab regions. Medvedev replied that “the criterion for using the CSTO forces is the violation by one state of the borders of another state that is part of this organization. We are not talking about this yet, because all the problems of Kyrgyzstan are rooted inside. They are rooted in the weakness of the former government, in their unwillingness to deal with the needs of the people. I hope that all the problems that exist today will be resolved by the authorities of Kyrgyzstan. The Russian Federation will help.”
This statement was the subject of criticism from the President of Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko said that the CRRF should enter Kyrgyzstan and restore order there. As a result, a compromise decision was made - a reinforced battalion of the 31st Airborne Assault Brigade of the Airborne Forces was delivered to the Russian Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan to ensure security. Representatives of the CSTO, in turn, took part in the search for the organizers of the riots and ensured the coordination of cooperation to suppress the activities of terrorist groups that actually influenced the situation from Afghanistan. Also, CSTO specialists were engaged in identifying instigators and instigators of hatred on the Internet. Non-lethal special equipment, special equipment, vehicles including helicopters.
General Secretary CSTO Nikolai Bordyuzha, following the events in Kyrgyzstan, issued a special statement, which, in particular, said that all CSTO member countries agreed that the entry of peacekeeping troops into the republic during riots was inexpedient: "The introduction of troops could provoke an even greater aggravation of the situation in the region as a whole," he said.
In 2011, the same Alexander Lukashenko took the initiative to use the CRRF to prevent coups. “Because by war, by the front, no one will go against us, but to make a constitutional coup - many hands itch,” he noted then.
In 2012, the CSTO left Uzbekistan for the second time - among the reasons were both disagreement with the organization's policy towards Afghanistan, and bilateral contradictions with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. This did not become a serious blow to the CSTO - the participation of Uzbekistan during its "second arrival" was largely formal.
However, as the terrorist threat intensified in the Middle East and Central Asia and NATO forces approached the borders of Russia and Belarus, it became clear that there was no alternative to the CSTO in the current situation. Ensuring internal and external security, as well as military-technical cooperation between our countries, is possible only with the constant and effective interaction of all structures responsible for security, including parliamentary interaction.
By 2016, the CSTO came up as a fairly unified and cohesive organization. Exercises of both the CRRF and other structures are regularly held, concepts and strategies are being developed, interaction has been established with the UN, SCO, CIS, EAEU and other international organizations.
On this occasion, the CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha has repeatedly noted that the coverage of the CSTO activities in Russia is not at the proper level.
“I would like to refer to our last experience - this is the conduct of a motorcycle race in the CSTO member states, with the exception of Armenia, since there were purely technical problems. Representatives of some bike clubs, together with representatives of the Minsk Motorcycle Plant, traveled through all the states of the bloc, met with the population everywhere, laid wreaths at the graves of servicemen who died in the Great Patriotic War. According to their estimates, in all states, including small settlements they know quite well about the CSTO, with the exception of Russian Federation", he said at a press conference in 2013.
CSTO PA: great potential for quality
The intensification of inter-parliamentary cooperation within the framework of the CSTO PA with the member countries of the organization, observers and all organizations interested in cooperation is becoming an important element of international security in the Eurasian space and around the world.
A certain optimism about the development of the situation around the CSTO inspires the unanimous election of the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin to a similar post in the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly.
This, on the one hand, is a traditional decision - earlier the CSTO PA was headed by the speakers of the State Duma of the previous and the year before last convocation Sergei Naryshkin and Boris Gryzlov respectively. But, judging by the changes that took place at the initiative of Vyacheslav Volodin in the State Duma, his chairmanship of the CSTO PA will not be “traditional”.
« It's obvious that priority work of the Assembly for the next four years will be the implementation of a program to harmonize the national legislation of the member states of the Treaty - the start of work was laid in current year The program is up to 2020. And enough tasks have accumulated, among the priorities are security issues. Five draft documents on reconciliation of national laws have already been prepared by the CSTO Standing Committee on Defense and Security. They concern the issues of combating corruption, drug trafficking, countering technological terrorism, training personnel in the direction of "Security in emergency situations", responding to crisis situations.”, - notes one of the Russian federal newspapers.
In his first speech in his new post, Volodin noted that the CSTO currently faces a number of priority tasks, including, in particular, the acceleration of the formation of a single legal space in the field of defense and security on the territory of the CSTO. Among other important areas of work, he named the parliamentary response to crisis situations not only in the CSTO space, but also beyond.
Afghanistan and Serbia are already observers in the CSTO. Iran and Pakistan are due to receive this status in 2017. According to the Vice Speaker of the CSTO PA, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Yuri Vorobyov, Moldova showed interest in interacting with the CSTO - after the election of a socialist as president Igor Dodon, who has repeatedly stated the need to restore ties with Russia, relations between Moscow and Chisinau may, if not dramatically improve, then at least become less ideological and more pragmatic.
Among the tasks facing the CSTO PA and the organization as a whole, one can also note the need to establish such interaction with the structures of the CIS, the EAEU, the SCO and others, which would exclude duplication of functions and unnecessary competition between the staff of the apparatus of these organizations. All of the above interstate organizations have different tasks, and a “hardware war”, or rather, not even a war, but excessive competition will only lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of interaction in all areas, including security.
The organization itself remains rather closed, too focused on purely specific security issues, which do not always acquire a public character. Experts note that the new chairman of the CSTO PA will be able to give impetus to the public component of the work, firstly, of the Parliamentary Assembly itself, and secondly, of the entire CSTO as a whole.
Here we can say that security issues will also require a clear, understandable, up-to-date legislative process for ensuring. An important factor is the dialogue of civil societies on security issues. Today there is a kind of discussion between those who believe that democratic procedures should dominate the system, and between those who believe that security issues today require a departure from some principles. In this case, Volodin's participation in this discussion will modernize it, raise it to the level of development of the entire civil society. And at the same time, it will bring it into line with legislative needs and constitutional status.
The international agenda in the world remains tense, and the election of the US President Donald Trump added unpredictability to the foreign policy of this strongest and most influential country. In such a situation, states interested in maintaining peace and internal tranquility should unite their efforts as much as possible both in the fight against international terrorism and with the desire of Western countries masquerading as “democratization” and “struggle for human rights” to impose their values and weaken the traditional life style as much as possible. way of life in the countries of Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia.
Cooperation within the framework of the CSTO is a vivid example of how the most militarily strongest member of the organization, represented by Russia, does not seek to impose its own values on other members and does not interfere in internal politics their partners.
What is the CSTO (decoding)? Who is included in the organization, today often opposed to NATO? You, dear readers, will find answers to all these questions in this article.
A Brief History of the Creation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO transcript)
In 2002, a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was held in Moscow on the basis of a similar agreement signed ten years earlier (1992) in Tashkent, and in October 2002 the CSTO Charter was adopted. They discussed and adopted the main provisions of the association - the Charter and the Agreement, which determined the international. These documents became valid as early as next year.
Tasks of the CSTO, decoding. Who is in this organization?
In December 2004, the CSTO official level received observer status, which once again confirmed the respect of the international community for this organization.
The decoding of the CSTO was given above. What are the main tasks of this organization? It:
military-political cooperation;
solution of important international and regional issues;
creation of mechanisms for multilateral cooperation, including in the military component;
ensuring national and collective security;
counteraction to international terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal migration, transnational crime;
ensuring information security.
The main Collective Security Treaty (CSTO decoding) is to continue and strengthen relations in foreign policy, military, military-technical spheres, to coordinate joint efforts in the fight against international terrorism and other threats to security. Its position on the world stage is a large eastern influential military association.
Let's summarize the interpretation of the CSTO (decoding, composition):
The acronym stands for Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Today it consists of six permanent members - Russia, Tajikistan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Kazakhstan, as well as two observer states at the parliamentary assembly - Serbia and Afghanistan.
CSTO at present
The organization can provide comprehensive protection for member states, as well as quickly respond to a large number of pressing problems and threats both within the bloc and outside its competence.
The tough confrontation between East and West, the US and Russia, sanctions and the situation in Ukraine put on the agenda an interesting question of whether the CSTO is capable of becoming an eastern alternative to NATO, or is it nothing more than a cordon sanitaire , designed to create a buffer zone around Russia that serves as a vehicle for Russian hegemony in the region?
Key organizational issues
At present CSTO time suffers from the same two problems as NATO. First, it is one dominant force that bears the entire financial and military burden, while many members contribute practically nothing to the alliance. Second, the organization struggles to find a legal basis for its existence. Unlike NATO, the CSTO has another fundamental problem - the members of the organization are never truly secure and they have different visions, often quite conflicting, about how the CSTO should look like.
While Russia is content to build up military infrastructure and use the territories of CSTO member states to host troops, other countries often see the organization as a tool to maintain their authoritarian regimes or ease ethnic tensions left over from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Such a stark contrast in how participants see the organization creates an atmosphere of distrust.
CSTO and the Russian Federation
Russia is the successor state of the former superpower, and its single-handed leadership experience has ensured its importance on the world stage, which puts it several heads above all the participating powers and makes it a strong leader in the organization.
As a result of negotiations on a number of strategic military deals with CSTO allies, such as the construction of new air bases in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia in 2016, Russia was able to strengthen its presence in these countries and their respective regions, as well as reduce NATO influence here. Despite economic difficulties, Russia is further increasing military spending and plans to complete an ambitious military program modernization until 2020, demonstrating its desire to play an increasingly important role on a global scale.
In the short term, Russia will achieve its goals and consolidate its influence using the resources of the CSTO. The deciphering of the leading country is simple: it wants to oppose NATO's aspirations in Central Asia and the Caucasus. By creating the conditions for deeper integration, Russia has opened the way for an effective collective security structure similar to that of its western neighbor.
We hope that now the decoding of the CSTO as a powerful regional organization has become clear to you.
The countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization regularly conduct joint exercises. What kind of conflicts in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and even remote parts of the world is the CSTO preparing for?
Within the framework of the CSTO, according to the decisions of the Collective Security Council, four main elements are distinguished:
- Collective Rapid Response Forces (CRRF), incl. the formation of special forces (FSSN KSOR), created in 2009, numbering over 17,000 people;
- Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Collective Security Region (CSRF CAR), created in 2001, numbering about 5,000 people;
- Peacekeeping Forces (MS), numbering about 3,600 people;
- Collective Aviation Forces (CAS), which includes transport and special aviation.
In addition, work is underway to create unified system Air defense-missile defense based regional associations(Armenia and Russia, Kazakhstan and Russia), however, as of the beginning of 2017, this process has not been completed.
One of the most important components of the collective security system is the regional Russian-Belarusian and joint groupings of troops.
The "basic" exercises of the CSTO forces and means traditionally include "Interaction" (CRRF) and "Indestructible Brotherhood" (MS), as well as "Frontier" (CSBR CAR). In addition, training events of a narrower specialization are held.
What is the CSTO preparing for?
As part of the exercises of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, the tasks of localizing a mock armed conflict caused by border incidents, the activities of sabotage units, international terrorist organizations on the territory of a mock CSTO member state, protecting its sovereignty and restoring territorial integrity.
Based on the information presented on the CSTO website, it is estimated that in the "Interaction" exercises in the period 2013-2016. an average of just over 1,700 military personnel per year (i.e., approximately 1/10 of the personnel of the CRRF) took part, with the largest number of participants in August 2014: about 3,000 people.
An important element of "Interaction" is a joint combat work fighters of the CRRF, regional groupings and national units under a single command - for example, in September 2013, the joint "use" of the CRRF and the Regional Grouping of Troops (Forces) of Belarus and Russia was carried out, and in August 2016 1,300 "CRRF" members joined the localization a conditional border conflict on the territory of one of the states of the Organization by the forces of 6,000 soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation under the general leadership of the commander of the Western Military District of Russia, Colonel-General Andrey Kartapolov.
Teachings of the CRRF CSTO "Interaction - 2016".
Within the " Interactions-2016 “Attention was also paid to active “psychological operations”: calls to lay down arms and surrender were crushed through loudspeakers in Russian, German, English and Polish to the “soldiers of the Western Alliance” through loudspeakers.
According to legend, under the guise peacekeeping operation, not sanctioned by the UN, there was an invasion of the territory of one of the CSTO countries in order to reject the border areas.
It should be noted that since December 19, 2016, Colonel-General A. Kartapolov has been heading the grouping of Russian troops in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Peacekeeping operations
The number of a group of soldiers trained to conduct peacekeeping operations under the flags of the CSTO varies significantly from year to year. If in 2013, about 4,000 soldiers carried out a conditional peacekeeping operation on the territory of the Russian Federation, then in 2014 (Kyrgyzstan) and 2015 (Armenia) their number did not reach even one thousand. This symbolic threshold was only crossed in 2016 during exercises on the territory of Belarus.
Teachings of the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces "Indestructible Brotherhood - 2016".
Important feature exercises of the "Indestructible Brotherhood" series is to work out the decision-making procedure on conducting a peacekeeping operation within the framework of the CSTO Collective Security Council. Moreover, in 2016, the scenario also provided for the preparation, adoption and implementation of the relevant resolution of the UN Security Council. In addition, within the framework of the exercises, special attention was paid to the issues of the mass arrival of refugees from the conflict zone.
It should be noted that in September 2012 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the CSTO Secretariat and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. During the meeting on the sidelines of the 71st Session of the General Assembly between the now former CSTO Secretary General N. Bordyuzha and the Director of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations E. Ladsus, the UN formulated an extremely specific task: recruiting one peacekeeping battalion ready to start peacekeeping UN-sponsored operations within 60 days of receipt of the application.
Threats in Central Asia
Particular attention within the framework of the CSTO is given to Central Asia, primarily to the border with Afghanistan. The key event of combat training is the “Rubezh” CRRF CAR exercises, the legend of which resembles “Interaction” in terms of solving problems of protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a CSTO member state, but with a pronounced anti-terrorist character.
The same group also includes the exercises of the FSSN CRRF "Cobalt" and "Thunder", in which several hundred soldiers of special forces of various departments solve the tasks of destroying terrorist groups and illegal armed groups, blocking drug supply channels and suppressing the activities of other criminal groups.
In addition, in the spring of 2015, a sudden check of the combat readiness of the CRRF was carried out on the territory of Tajikistan, during which 2,500 servicemen practiced tasks to repel an attack by a mock enemy from Afghanistan.
In April 2016, again on the territory of Tajikistan, the first “Search” was held - an exercise of the intelligence units of the armed forces of the CSTO member states. 1,500 military intelligence officers, as part of the localization of a conditional military conflict, collected, processed and analyzed intelligence information, conducted special operation on the capture and destruction of critical facilities, ensured the exchange of intelligence information and carried out fire destruction of opened objects.
Willingness number one?
Combat training within the framework of the CSTO is becoming more and more diverse and complex over time. Achieved a high level interoperability national and collective units, both on the battlefield, and in headquarters, and in the rear.
The collective forces are preparing to conduct anti-terrorist operations, protect the sovereignty of the CSTO member states, as well as peacekeeping activities outside them.
In the short term, the most likely is the involvement of the CSTO in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking. In addition, a Roadmap for the use of the CSTO in UN peacekeeping activities for the period 2017-2020 is currently being developed.”
The approval of this document, as well as the start of full-fledged work of the new leadership of the CSTO and the relevant UN Department, will make the dispatch of the CSTO peacekeeping contingent to one of the hot spots of our planet only a matter of time. As for the defense of sovereignty from the "Western Alliance" - let's wish this scenario to remain only a learning task.
Dmitry Stefanovich, independent military expert
The Collective Security Treaty was signed on May 15, 1992 in Tashkent by the heads of six CIS member states - Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In September 1993, Azerbaijan joined it, in December 1993 - Georgia and Belarus. The Treaty entered into force for all nine countries in April 1994 for a period of five years. In April 1999, the Protocol on the extension of the Collective Security Treaty was signed by six of them (except for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan).
On May 14, 2002, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was established, uniting Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. In June 2006, a decision was made
"On the restoration of the membership of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the CSTO", however, in December 2012, the membership of this country was suspended. Currently, the CSTO includes six states - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
On October 7, 2002, the CSTO Charter was adopted in Chisinau. According to him, the main goals Organizations are the strengthening of peace, international and regional security and stability, the protection on a collective basis of the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the member states, in achieving which the member states give priority to political means.
In 2017, the CSTO celebrated the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Collective Security Treaty and the 15th anniversary of the creation of the Organization. The jubilee Declaration adopted by the presidents notes that the CSTO is a dynamically developing basis for equal cooperation, ensuring a timely and adequate response to the changing situation in the world, and the formed legal framework of the Organization allows bringing cooperation between the CSTO member states to a qualitatively new level, strengthening the commonality of strategic goals and transform the CSTO into one of the effective multifunctional structures that ensure security at the regional level.
The supreme body of the CSTO, which considers the fundamental issues of the Organization's activities, is Collective Security Council (CSC) consisting of heads of state. The chairman of the CSC is the head of the state presiding over the Organization (since November 8, 2018 - Kyrgyzstan). Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Defense, Secretaries of the Security Councils of the Member States, the Secretary General of the Organization and invited persons may take part in the meetings of the CSC. Sessions of the CSC CSTO are held at least once a year. At the session of the CSC CSTO (November 8, 2018), protocols were signed on amending the statutory documents, according to which the head of government can be a member of the Council. Protocols are subject to ratification. Not yet entered into force.
The advisory and executive bodies of the CSTO are Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA), coordinating the foreign policy activities of the CSTO member states; Council of Defense Ministers (CMO), ensuring the interaction of the Member States in the field military policy, military construction and military-technical cooperation; Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils (CSSC) in charge of national security issues. Meetings of these bodies are held at least twice a year.
In the period between sessions of the CSC, the coordination of the activities of the CSTO is entrusted to Permanent Council(effective since March 2004), which consists of permanent and plenipotentiary representatives of the Member States.
The permanent working bodies of the CSTO are Secretariat and joint headquarters Organizations (operating since January 2004).
The Military Committee under the CMO, the Coordinating Council of the Heads of the Competent Authorities of the CSTO Member States on Combating Illegal Migration (CSTO) and the Coordinating Council for Emergency Situations of the CSTO Member States (CSTO) have been formed. members of the CSTO (KSChS). Since 2006, the Working Group on Afghanistan has been operating under the CSTO Ministerial Council. In 2016, under the CSTO CMO, a Working Group was established to coordinate the joint training of military personnel and scientific work. Under the CSTO CSTO, there is a Working Group of Experts on Combating Terrorism and Extremism and a Working Group on Information Policy and Security. In December 2014, a decision was made to establish a CSTO Consultative Coordination Center for Response to Computer Incidents. Since October 2017, the CSTO Crisis Response Center has started working in test mode.
The parliamentary dimension of the CSTO is developing. On November 16, 2006, on the basis of the IPA CIS in St. Petersburg, CSTO Parliamentary Assembly(PA CSTO), which is the body of inter-parliamentary cooperation of the Organization. On May 20, 2019, a regular meeting of the CSTO PA will be held in Bishkek. Between plenary sessions, the activities of the CSTO PA are carried out in the format of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly and Permanent Commissions (on defense and security issues, on political issues and international cooperation, on socio-economic and legal issues), meetings of the Information and Analytical legal center Assembly and the Expert Advisory Council under the CSTO PA.
On November 24, 2016, V.V. Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, was elected Chairman of the CSTO PA.
The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the Volesi Jirga of the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia have the status of an observer at the CSTO PA. Representatives of Cuba and other countries participate in the meetings of the CSTO PA as guests.
The CSTO carries out its activities in cooperation with various international and regional organizations.
Since December 2, 2004, the Organization has an observer status in the UN General Assembly. On March 18, 2010, a Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the UN Secretariats and the CSTO was signed in Moscow, which provides for the establishment of interaction between the two organizations, in particular, in the field of peacekeeping. In its development, on September 28, 2012, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in New York between the CSTO Secretariat and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. During the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in November 2016, a resolution was adopted on cooperation between the UN and the CSTO, in which the CSTO is considered as an organization capable of giving an adequate response to wide range challenges and threats in their area of responsibility. Another similar resolution is planned to be adopted during the current
73rd session of the UN General Assembly. Productive contacts are maintained with other UN structures, including the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
In October 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the CSTO Secretariat and the SCO Secretariat. In December 2009 - Memorandum of Cooperation between the CSTO Secretariat and the CIS Executive Committee. On May 28, 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on issues of cooperation and interaction between the CSTO Secretariat, the SCO RATS and the CIS ATC. In April 2019, a meeting of the secretaries general of the CIS, SCO and CSTO was held.
Contacts are maintained with the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the International Organization for Migration and others international structures. The CSTO stands for the development of a dialogue with ASEAN and the African Union.
As the Organization develops, its contractual and legal base is strengthened, which, in addition to the statutory documents, includes about 50 different agreements and protocols. Of fundamental importance are the set of decisions of the CSTO CSC on the creation of collective forces, foreign policy coordination, the Collective Security Strategy, the Anti-Drug Strategy, Road map on creating conditions for using the peacekeeping potential of the CSTO in the interests of the global peacekeeping activities of the UN, etc.
Military cooperation in the CSTO format is carried out in accordance with the decision of the CSTO CSC "On the Main Directions for the Development of Military Cooperation of the CSTO Member States for the Period until 2020" adopted in 2012.
The components of the power potential of the CSTO collective security system have been formed.
In 2001, to ensure the security of the CSTO member states in the Central Asian region, the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces (CSRF) were created. The Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF) of the CSTO, formed in 2009, which includes military contingents and formations of special forces, has become a multifunctional component of the CSTO collective security system. The Peacekeeping Forces (MS) of the Organization were created, the corresponding Agreement on which entered into force in 2009. In order to increase the efficiency of the actions of the collective forces in accordance with the decision of the CSTO CSC adopted in 2014, the formation of the Collective Aviation Forces (CAS) of the CSTO was completed.
The composition of the forces and means of the collective security system has been determined and normatively fixed, and their joint operational and combat training is conducted on a regular basis.
From October 1 to November 2, 2018, on the territory of Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, operational-strategic exercises were held with the CSTO contingents "Combat Brotherhood - 2018", which included the tactical-special exercise "Poisk-2018" with reconnaissance forces and means (1-5 October, Kazakhstan), "Air Bridge - 2018" with Collective aviation forces(October 1-14, Russia), "Interaction - 2018" with the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (October 10-13, Kyrgyzstan), "Indestructible Brotherhood - 2018" with peacekeeping forces CSTO (October 30 - November 2, Russia).
On May 18 - 23, 2018, in the Almaty region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, exercises of special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from the formation of special forces "Cobalt-2018" were held.
In the field of military-technical cooperation, mechanisms are being improved for the supply of weapons and special equipment to the allies, the provision of military-technical assistance to the CSTO member states, and joint training of military personnel has been organized. The concept of training military personnel has been approved. Since 2006, the CSTO Interstate Commission for Military-Economic Cooperation has been operating. On November 8, 2018, the session of the CSC CSTO adopted the Decision on the appointment of Yu.I. Borisov, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, to this post.
On November 20, 2012, the Protocol on the deployment of military infrastructure facilities on the territories of the CSTO member states, signed at the session of the CSTO CSC (December 2011), came into force, according to which decisions
on the deployment of military infrastructure facilities of "third" countries on the territory of the CSTO member states can be accepted only in the absence of official objections from all member states of the Organization.
Within the framework of the KSOPN (established in 2005) there are three Working Groups: on the coordination of operational-search activities, on the exchange of information resources and on personnel training. Chairman of the Coordinating Council - State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia I.N. Zubov.
The fundamental document in the field of anti-drug activities of the CSTO is the “Anti-Drug Strategy of the CSTO Member States” approved at the December (2014) session of the CSTO CSC in Moscow
for 2015-2020”. Since 2003, the international complex anti-drug operation "Channel" has been carried out on the territory of the CSTO member states (since 2008 it has been transformed into a permanent operation). Total from 2003 to 2019 30 stages of operation "Channel" were carried out. As a result of the last stage of the Canal Center (February 26 - March 1 of this year), 11.5 tons of drugs were seized from illegal circulation, 784 drug crimes were revealed, about 4 thousand criminal cases were initiated.
The operation was attended by law enforcement, border, customs authorities, security services, financial intelligence units of the CSTO member states. The observers were representatives law enforcement Afghanistan, Great Britain, Iran, Italy, China, Mongolia, USA, Turkey, France and employees of UNODC, Interpol, OSCE, Central Asia Drug Prevention Program, Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, Committee of Heads of Law Enforcement Units of Customs services of the CIS, the RATS SCO, the Bureau for Coordinating the Fight against Organized Crime and Other Dangerous Types of Crime on the Territory of the CIS Member States, the Criminal Intelligence Center for Combating Drugs of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.
In the field of combating illegal migration of citizens of third (in relation to the CSTO) countries, under the auspices of the Organization, the Coordinating Council of the Heads of the Competent Authorities of the CSTO Member States on Combating Illegal Migration (CSTO) operates, as well as the Working Group, whose members are the heads of structural divisions of the internal affairs, security services, migration and border services. Since 2008, operational and preventive measures "Illegal" have been carried out, the purpose of which is to identify and suppress violations of migration legislation. Since 2018, Illegal has been given the status of a permanent operation. Hundreds of thousands of crimes in this area have been suppressed, more than 1,600 persons who were on the international wanted list have been detained. Over 73,000 violations of migration laws by persons from third countries were identified as part of Operation Illegal-2018, dubious financial operations, channels of trafficking in human beings were opened, about 1,550 criminal cases were initiated.
On a regular basis, special measures are being taken to identify and suppress channels for recruiting citizens into the ranks of terrorist organizations, and effective work is being done to prevent militants from entering the CAR from zones of armed conflicts. In April-May 2019, for the first time, a set of operational and preventive measures was taken to block recruitment channels, entry and exit of citizens of the CSTO member states to participate in terrorist activities, as well as neutralizing the resource base of international terrorist organizations in the CSTO space under the name "Mercenary".
In order to combat crimes in the information environment, Operation PROXY is being carried out (since 2014 - on an ongoing basis). In 2018, as a result of the operation, 345,207 information resources were identified aimed at inciting ethnic and religious hatred, spreading terrorist and extremist ideas in the interests of criminal groups, etc. The activity of 54,251 resources was suspended and 720 criminal cases were initiated. As a result of countering the use of the Internet for illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic and psychoactive substances, 1832 illegal information resource, of which 1748 were blocked, 560 facts of criminal activity were uncovered. 594 criminal cases were initiated. 120 criminal cases have been initiated on the revealed facts testifying to criminal activity related to illegal migration and human trafficking in the CSTO member states.
Foreign policy coordination is built on the basis of annual consultation plans of representatives of the CSTO member states on issues foreign policy, security and defense, as well as lists of topics for joint statements. Working meetings at the level of foreign ministers of the CSTO member states on the sidelines of the session of the UN General Assembly and the OSCE Ministerial Council have become regular.
In September 2011, the “Collective Instructions to the Permanent Representatives of the CSTO Member States under international organizations» (updated in July 2016). Coordination meetings of ambassadors of member states in third countries are held. In 2018, it was decided to appoint persons responsible for interaction on cooperation issues within the framework of the CSTO in foreign institutions.
Since 2011, about 80 joint statements of the CSTO member states have been adopted at various international platforms.
On September 26, 2018, in New York, on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, a traditional working meeting Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CSTO member states. An exchange of views took place on priority issues on the UN agenda, interaction between the CSTO and the UN, the fight against terrorism and ensuring regional security, and the preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Collective Security Council (CSC) of the CSTO were discussed. Joint statements were adopted “On the situation in Afghanistan, the strengthening of the position of ISIS in the northern provinces of the country and the growth of the drug threat from the territory of the IRA”, “On efforts to stabilize the situation in the Middle East and North Africa”, “On the intensification of cooperation between the CSTO and regional organizations and structures”.
The next meeting of the CSTO CSC was held on November 8, 2018 in Astana. The final declaration of the CSTO summit was adopted, as well as a statement by the heads of the CSTO member states on coordinated measures against participants in armed conflicts on the side of international terrorist organizations. The Council approved a package of documents on the legal registration of the CSTO observer and partner status and a number of other documents in the field of military cooperation, crisis response, countering international terrorism, and illegal migration.
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