On the results of the extraordinary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan and its impact on the security of the CSTO member States

On August 23, 2021, under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Chairman of Collective Security Council of Collective Security Treaty Organization Emomali Rahmon, an extraordinary session of the Collective Security Council was held via videoconferencing.

The President of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Chairman of the CSTO Collective Security Council Emomali Rahmon, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Nurgojoyevich Japarov, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Vasilevich Zas participated in the session.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev participated in the session as an invited guest. The Collective Security Council members held a thorough exchange of views on the situation in Afghanistan and its impact on the security of CSTO member States. In the course of the session, the member nations noted with concern the drastic deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan. They stressed the importance of responsible restoration of state authority in Afghanistan through an inclusive peaceful dialogue, taking into account the interests of all social, political, ethnic and confessional groups of the country. In the course of the session, it was noted that the political regime in Afghanistan had to be based on the free will of the entire Afghan people. The rigorous consideration, safeguarding and protection of the sociopolitical interests of all segments of society was vital to the sustainability of any Afghan government.

In view of the increasing presence of militants of international terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, who are using that country as a fallback ground for their further activities and expansion, the CSTO member States have agreed to make additional efforts to develop cooperation in counteracting the challenges and threats emanating from the territory of Afghanistan. An agreement was reached to speed up the adoption of the Special Interstate Policy to strengthen the parts of the Tajik-Afghan border, proposed by the Republic of Tajikistan within the CSTO framework. The Collective Security Council members agreed to continue exchanging views on the situation in Afghanistan in the course of the upcoming CSTO summit in Dushanbe on September 16.

The extraordinary session was followed by an online briefing by the CSTO Secretary General on the military and political situation in and around the area of responsibility of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the results of CSTO activities in 2020 and the tasks for 2021.  

The broadcast of the briefing can be viewed at the link on the resource of the International Multimedia Press Center of the "Russia Today" media group.