On July 15, 2026, the High-Level Regional Meeting “Enhancing Capacities to Prevent the Supply of Weapons to Terrorists in Central Asia” was held in Moscow, organized by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism with the participation of the Russian side.
On July 14, 2026, a working meeting was held at the CSTO Secretariat between CSTO Deputy Secretary General Valery Semerikov and UN Assistant Secretary-General Alexander Zuev.
From July 7 to 9, second staff talks were held in the Russian Federation on the organization and conduct of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF) command-and-staff exercise “Interaction-2026”, the special reconnaissance exercise “Poisk-2026”, and the logistics support exercise “Echelon-2026”.
In accordance with the 2026 Action Plan of the Coordinating Council of Heads of the Competent Authorities for Countering Illicit Drug Trafficking of the CSTO Member States, and as part of the Russian Federation's priorities during its 2026 CSTO Chairmanship, the sub-regional counter-narcotics operation “Kanal – Amber Coast” was conducted from June 29 to July 3, 2026. The operation was aimed at disrupting trafficking routes for narcotic drugs, their precursors and analogues, new psychoactive substances, and potent substances into the CSTO area of responsibility, neutralizing international transnational drug trafficking groups, dismantling clandestine drug production facilities, undermining the economic foundations of the drug trade, including the laundering of drug proceeds.
The Plan for the CSTO regional training “Illegal-2026” has been approved
26.03.2026
On March 26, 2026, a meeting of the International Headquarters of the CSTO regional operation “Illegal-2026” was held via videoconferencing.
The meeting of the International Headquarters was chaired by Major General Andrey Makhsudovich Avezov, Deputy Head of the Migration Service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The meeting was attended by Valery Semerikov, the CSTO Deputy Secretary General; representatives of ministries and agencies from the Organization’s member states; as well as representatives of the Coordination Service of the Council of Border Troop Commanders, the Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units, and the Anti-Terrorism Center of the CIS member states.
In his speech, Valery Semerikov highlighted the increasingly complex political situation within the CSTO’s area of responsibility and the conditions under which tasks will need to be addressed. He analyzed the results of Operation “Illegal” in 2025 and identified the issues on which efforts must be focused during Operation “Illegal-2026.”
The meeting participants agreed on the plan for the CSTO’s “Illegal” regional operation in 2026, specified the timelines for the operation’s active phases, and established communication channels and procedures for information exchange.
