The CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov gave an interview to TASS

In an interview with TASS, the CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov spoke about the results of his work in office, the growth of challenges and threats in the organization's area of responsibility, conflicts over territory and water, and gave his forecast regarding Russia's chairmanship of the CSTO in 2026.

— Imangali Nurgaliyevich, your term as Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) expires on December 31. What would you say are your main achievements during your time in this position? And what issues, in your opinion, still require careful consideration by the organization?

— During my tenure as head of the Secretariat, the international situation deteriorated, became increasingly unmanageable, and required the organization to constantly adapt, improve the effectiveness of traditional methods of ensuring collective security, and seek new means of enhancing stability in the CSTO area of responsibility.

During this three-year period, we have managed to maintain constructive interaction with international organizations. We have traditionally enjoyed a high level of cooperation with the UN. Among the whole range of issues, our work on developing the peacekeeping potential of the CSTO and integrating it into the UN's peacekeeping activities stands out. Our dialogue with the CIS and the SCO has developed successfully. In particular, the implementation of the initiative to create a “security belt” around Afghanistan is in the interests of all three organizations. In September this year, a road map for the development of cooperation between the CSTO, the SCO, and the CIS was adopted.

The key focus of the CSTO's work remained the development of military cooperation and improving the combat readiness of the CSTO Collective Forces. We regularly conducted trainings such as “Interaction,” “Search,” “Echelon,” “Frontier,” “Indestructible Brotherhood,” and “Barrier,” where specific aspects of troop training were practiced, taking into account the latest combat experience.

During this period, the potential of the Collective Forces increased dramatically. The CSTO aviation group was strengthened, and the number of personnel almost doubled. Member states paid increased attention to military education.

In practical terms, our ongoing operations in the areas of counterterrorism, drug trafficking, and illegal migration have yielded very good results. The anti-drug operation “Channel” is demonstrating growing effectiveness. In 2025 alone, more than 8 tons of narcotic and psychotropic substances were seized. The results of operation “Illegal” also improved. For example, in 2024, more than 130,000 violations of migration legislation were prevented. Special units of the CSTO member states conducted regular trainings “Cobalt” and “Rock,” aimed at eliminating illegal armed groups and dealing with the consequences of emergencies, respectively.

We have consistently expanded our work in the field of information and analysis. New CSTO information and analytical resources have been created: the magazine “Multipolar Analytics”, the information and analytical publication “Allies. CSTO”, and the Telegram channel “EMITA”. In 2025, in honor of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, the Secretariat held a scientific conference on the contribution of our peoples to its achievement, and the encyclopedia “The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” was published. An annual conceptual analytical report, “The Great Eurasian Partnership: Shared Responsibility for a Secure Future,” was prepared.

Among the main achievements of the CSTO over the past three years, it is worth highlighting the improvement of the crisis response system and the approval of the CSTO Special Interstate Policy for strengthening sections of the Tajik-Afghan Border. In 2025, the main focus of the organization's work was on ensuring security in the cyber sphere.

More detailed results of the organization's work over the past three years are presented in the report, which is available on the CSTO information resources.

The CSTO faces many challenges. In my opinion, one of the key ones is to increase the organization's effectiveness and its adaptive potential, taking into account hybrid threats and using all the capabilities of the alliance. Here, I would like to emphasize that the CSTO is consistently implementing a strategy to strengthen collective security, combining operational readiness with diplomatic and analytical tools, and will continue to adhere to this approach.

— On January 1, 2026, Russia will assume the chairmanship of the organization. What are your expectations in this regard?

— Russia is assuming the chairmanship of the organization at a very difficult time. The Russian Federation will have to operate in conditions of geopolitical confrontation and structural restructuring of the international relations system. The situation in the CSTO's area of responsibility and in neighboring regions has remained tense, and this must be taken into account. On the other hand, Moscow's formulation of the priorities for its chairmanship demonstrates continuity in the organization's political and diplomatic practices, transparency of action, and accountability.

The groundwork laid by previous chairmen — Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Belarus — has created a solid foundation, despite serious military and political events in the organization's area of responsibility and external pressure on it. This groundwork has provided a margin of safety, and I am confident that Russia will use it to the fullest benefit of its allies and make significant progress in forming a “common security space” in Eurasia.

— What are the main security threats for the CSTO countries that you consider the most relevant today?

— First of all, it should be noted that the range of challenges and threats in the CSTO area of responsibility has expanded significantly recently. The threats of transnational terrorism, religious extremism, and conflicts over resources should be pointed out here. Moreover, the territory and such a valuable resource as water act as resources. The latter is particularly worrisome due to the deteriorating water resources situation in Central Asia. This is a node of the most complex problems that require increased attention from the national governments of the countries of the region. The problem of information security takes on a specific dimension in the area of responsibility of the organization. The lack of regulation in this area creates risks of large-scale manipulation of public consciousness by external actors in their own geopolitical interests. Threats related to drug trafficking, illegal arms trafficking, illegal migration, recruitment into terrorist organizations, deterioration of the epidemiological situation, and others continue to persist in certain CSTO security regions. It is very difficult to single out any one threat as the most urgent, since each of the three CSTO collective security regions has its own combination of relevant threats. But as a general one, we can identify the risk of military and political destabilization, which nevertheless can be carried out using different tools. It is important to note that the organization is making systematic efforts to neutralize the identified challenges and threats, acting on a collective basis. So, this year, the CSTO Special Interstate Policy for strengthening sections of the Tajik-Afghan Border, which I have already mentioned, began to function. The program includes specific measures aimed at ensuring the security of the southern part of the CSTO area of responsibility.

— How prepared are CSTO forces to respond to modern hybrid threats, including cyberattacks and disinformation?

— The Secretariat has a dedicated department that deals with countering hybrid threats. It is easy to see that its work is highly effective by assessing the level and scale of its staff's involvement in various formats of expert interaction. Furthermore, the organization conducts special trainings aimed at combating hybrid threats — “Cobalt,” “Barrier,” “Rock,” ‘Search’ — and implements ongoing operations “Proxy,” “Channel,” “Mercenary,” and “Illegal.” Operation “Proxy” is specifically aimed at countering challenges and threats in the information sphere. In addition, thanks to the efforts of the Kyrgyz side, this year we were able to organize and hold an international conference on cybersecurity in Issyk-Kul and conduct our first cyber trainings there. We hope that this conference will become an annual event. Our analysts and specialists in media relations and public relations are effectively combating disinformation and fake news. According to the decision of the CSTO Security Council adopted at its autumn session, an information and analytical department will be created within the Secretariat. Accordingly, the staff working in this area will be expanded. We are confident that this will strengthen our position in responding to information attacks against the organization in the future.

— Is there a possibility that other countries will want to join the CSTO? Have there been any signals to this effect from partners?

— No, there have been no such signals yet. Eurasia is currently going through very difficult times in terms of security. Potential partners are closely watching the organization and how it responds to various crises and hybrid attacks on the organization itself. An important factor here is Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. So, depending on the outcome of the special military operation, the situation may change significantly. At the same time, when discussing partnership with the CSTO, we need to talk not only about potential new members of the alliance, but also about partners in the form of international organizations. Here, it is important to note the strengthening of ties and deepening of cooperation. As I mentioned earlier, in the fall of this year, the secretaries-general of the CIS, the SCO, and the CSTO signed a roadmap for the development of cooperation. The point is that other formats of interaction, which do not directly involve the inclusion of new members in the alliance, are no less promising — they, in turn, expand the capabilities of the CSTO and its influence.

— In July, several media outlets reported that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan may consider withdrawing from the CSTO in February 2026. Armenia also failed to pay its contribution for 2024. According to your information, is it really possible that the republic will leave the organization, including due to non-payment of its contribution for 2025?

— As is well known, the Republic of Armenia has suspended its participation in the organization, reflecting the current position of Armenia's political leadership regarding the CSTO. This is a decision of an independent and sovereign state, which no other state or organization can influence. At the same time, Armenia has been and remains our ally. We hope that Armenia will return to full participation in the CSTO in the foreseeable future. All the conditions and prerequisites for this are in place: we proceed from the assumption that the Armenian people are interested in creating a common security space in Eurasia. Moreover, in November, the Armenian Foreign Ministry made a statement that the question of the republic's withdrawal from the CSTO is not on the agenda.

— Are there any plans to conduct CSTO trainings in the Baltic region? How do you assess the threat of conflict in the Baltic region? Is the CSTO prepared for such a scenario?

— Analysts at the Secretariat are monitoring the situation in the Baltic region. Of course, there are certain concerns. However, we are counting on the prudence of NATO's political leadership, given that any incident in the Baltic could provoke a serious international military-political crisis. As for trainings, we have planned trainings on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, namely, “Indestructible Brotherhood” and “Barrier” in 2026 and a special permanent operation “Cobalt” in 2027.

— How does the CSTO view the new US national security strategy?

— From time to time, countries review their strategic planning documents and adjust them to reflect the changing international situation. This also applies to the US. Moreover, Washington's efforts to resolve conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and other regions must be taken into account. All of this gives reason to believe that the US is currently taking the interests of other countries into account in one way or another. And this in itself is a positive sign.

https://tass.ru/interviews/25947487