The CSTO Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils has discussed countering challenges and threats in the Organization's area of responsibility and measures to neutralize them

According to the assessment of CSTO Secretary General Stanislav ZAS, the military and political situation in the world today remains complicated and continues to develop under the influence of negative factors, the main of which are the clash of interests of the leading states in different regions of the world and the activities of military and political alliances to expand their own spheres of influence.

A meeting of the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was held in Dushanbe on April 29, 2021, chaired by Nasrullo Mahmudzoda, the Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Tajikistan. The CSCC has discussed security issues, countering challenges and threats, and measures to neutralize them.

The CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas participated in the meeting and provided the information on the situation in the Organization's area of responsibility and on the issues on the agenda.

Before the start of the CSTO meeting, the secretaries of security councils were received by the Chairman of the CSTO Collective Security Council, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon. He emphasized: "We give priority to cooperation between countries within the Collective Security Treaty Organization, an important link in our joint efforts to achieve our goals is the effective work of the Secretaries of Security Councils.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon noted that "due to the complex situation in the world community, the aggravation of modern threats and challenges, their impact on the security of CSTO member states, increasing international tensions due to geopolitical competition and other threats to security and stability, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation within the CSTO. The current situation in Tajikistan's neighboring Afghanistan was also discussed. In 2021, the Republic of Tajikistan will hold the presidency of the organization.

The meeting with the President of the Republic of Tajikistan discussed issues related to combating other threats, including the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the acute global socioeconomic and financial crisis and their impact on countries' security and economies, biosecurity and drug trafficking.

The parties considered it necessary to intensify joint activities of the CSTO member states and coordinate operations of special services, including in the fight against cybercrime.

The meeting of the CSTO Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils was held in a small number of participants and in the format of plenary session in the course of which seven important documents related to the development of the collective security system in the political and military spheres, as well as in the sphere of counteraction to modern challenges and threats were signed.

In the course of the CSTO meeting, the secretaries of the security councils paid special attention to coordinating the activities of CSTO member states to create a reliable system for ensuring biological security. The parties agreed to develop joint practical measures to prevent threats to national, regional and international security associated with exposure to biological hazards.

Among the approved documents is the Plan to equip the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF) with modern weapons, military and special equipment and special facilities. The implementation of this plan is aimed at increasing the level of technical equipment of the components of the CSTO Collective Forces, as well as the special purpose formations within the CRRF. The document is planned to be submitted for consideration of the heads of states at the session of the Collective Security Council. A decision has also been signed by the CMD and the CSSC on the model structure and staffing of the Command of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces

The CSTO has approved the Plan for joint training of the command and control bodies and formations of the assets of the collective security system of the Collective Security Treaty Organization for 2022.

The CSSC meeting also approved the Plan of consultations on foreign policy, defense and security for the second half of 2021 to the first half of 2022. The document serves as the basis for consultations on political and military cooperation, as well as on countering challenges and threats.

The CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zass summarized the results of the CSTO meeting:

"We have just finished a meeting of the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils, which we held in person on the hospitable land of the Republic of Tajikistan after a long break because of the pandemic. I would like to thank the Tajik side for the excellent organization of the event. We accomplished all the tasks we had set for ourselves.

In the course of the meeting we conducted a detailed analysis of the military and political situation in the world and assessed the situation both in the area of responsibility of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and in the neighboring regions.

I am forced to note that the military-political situation in the world today remains complicated and continues to develop under the influence of negative factors, the main of which are the clash of interests of the leading states in different regions of the world and the activities of military-political alliances to expand their own spheres of influence. The unresolved conflict in the southeast of Ukraine has a negative impact.

We regret to state that today the system of strategic stability in the world is being unbalanced, existing treaty regimes in the field of arms control are being dismantled, activities of terrorist and extremist groups are increasing, illegal drug distribution is expanding, and there has been an explosive growth of cybercrimes.

We note that a large-scale information campaign has been launched against some of our states to undermine stability and create a breeding ground for conflict situations between the power structures and destructive opposition groups seeking power. Improved methods of "color revolutions" and "hybrid wars" are widely used to change the political course.

In the face of pandemic pervasiveness and strict isolation, the so-called "Lockdown", cybersecurity has assumed a new status that defines global and regional stability issues. The forced accelerated digitization of government, business and private life in a pandemic environment has caused a marked increase in information and communications technology crime.

Under these conditions, interaction between the Organization's member states is improving and we are striving to expand cooperation between the CSTO, the CIS and the SCO in various areas of cooperation, including in the field of information security.

Since 2008, a special operation “PROXY” has been conducted for the 12th time. In 2020, the number of detected facts indicating the commission of crimes in the field of information technology has increased almost 10-fold and amounted to more than 230 thousand, based on the results of inspections of which more than 84.4 thousand criminal cases were initiated, which is almost 4 times more compared to the same period in 2019.

One of the main areas of cooperation in the CSTO's anti-terrorism track is a special operation "Mercenary," which began in 2019. Its purpose is to suppress recruitment, cut off channels of entry/exit of citizens of member states of the Organization to participate in terrorist activities, as well as to neutralize the resource base of international terrorist organizations in the CSTO space.

"We are very concerned about the situation in neighboring Afghanistan. The analysis of information received from official and other sources shows that during the period from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021, the intensity and scale of military operations of armed groups of international terrorist organizations against security forces to seize populated areas of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, including county centers bordering the Republic of Tajikistan, as well as targeted attacks on facilities of Afghan power structures have significantly increased," the CSTO Secretary General noted.

Before the meetings of the statutory bodies, Stanislav Zas personally visited the problematic parts of the border and studied the situation.

"In order to localize the possible negative consequences of the events taking place in Afghanistan, the CSTO is implementing measures aimed at reducing tensions in the Tajik-Afghan border area. Measures are underway to prepare the Special Interstate Policy to strengthen the Tajik-Afghan part of the border. It is one of the priorities of Tajikistan's CSTO presidency in 2021," he said. - Stanislav Zas said.

He stressed that the CSTO paid great attention to the development of peacekeeping forces and their preparation for use in peacekeeping operations, including those under the auspices of the UN.

The main forms of training of formations of the assets of the CSTO collective security system, including special forces, are joint trainings. Seven trainings are planned for 2021 ("Thunder-2021" in the Republic of Armenia, "Rubezh-2021" in the Kyrgyz Republic, "Indestructible brotherhood-2021" in the Russian Federation, "Interaction-2021", "Echelon-2021", "Search-2021" and "Cobalt-2021" in the Republic of Tajikistan).

The CSTO approved a draft Agreement on jurisdiction and legal assistance in cases involving the temporary stay of formations of Collective Security Forces and the assets on the territories of CSTO member states. The purpose of the document is to create a mechanism for cooperation between the competent authorities of the CSTO member states: military police, military investigation, military prosecutor's office, military courts (tribunals) - in criminal and administrative cases against persons belonging to formations of the assets of collective security system.

"In May 2022, as you know, our Organization will celebrate 30 years since the signing of our founding document, the Collective Security Treaty, and the 20th anniversary of the CSTO itself. The CSTO approved a corresponding plan to hold events dedicated to this big anniversary. It provides for various organizational, foreign policy, military-technical, military-economic, cultural-educational, scientific-practical and other events," the CSTO Secretary General said.

 The next meeting of the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils is also scheduled to be held in the Republic of Tajikistan on the eve of the session of the Collective Security Council in the 4th quarter of 2021.

The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992 in Tashkent. On May 14, 2002, the Collective Security Council at a session in Moscow decided to transform the mechanisms and cooperation structures of the CST member states into an international regional organization - the “Collective Security Treaty Organization”, giving it an appropriate status. On September 18, 2003 the CSTO Charter entered into force. The Collective Security Treaty Organization includes: the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan, chairing the Organization in 2021.