On 20 December, a joint training session was held between the duty shifts of the CSTO Crisis Response Center and the command posts of the defense and emergency ministries of the Organization's member states.
On 10 and 11 December, the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization hosted videoconference consultations of representatives of interested ministries and departments of the CSTO member states on the organization of joint training activities in 2026 for the CSTO collective security system's command and control bodies and formations.
On December 11, 2024, Taalatbek Masadykov, the CSTO Deputy Secretary General and Special Representative of the CSTO Secretary General for Peacekeeping, held a meeting with the delegation of the Monitoring Group (MG) of the UN Security Council Sanctions Committees 1267/1989/2253 on ISIS and “Al-Qaeda” and 1988 on the Taliban Movement.
On December 11, 2024, the 40th meeting of the Working Group on Afghanistan under the CSTO Ministerial Council was held with the participation of the CSTO Deputy Secretary General S. Ordabayev and the CSTO Deputy Secretary General T. Masadykov. The event was also attended by delegations of the Organization's member states and representatives of the UNOCT, the UNRCCA, the CIS ATC, the Coordination Service of the CIS Council of Commanders of Border Troops, the SCO RATS, and the ICRC.
The CSTO Secretary General held press conference at the “Rossiya Segodnya” news agency
04.12.2024
The CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov held a press conference in the format of a video bridge between Moscow - Minsk - Astana - Bishkek - Yerevan on the results of the CSTO activities in 2024, including the results of the joint meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers, the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils and the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council.
On the results of the CSTO CSC
The CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov began by summarizing the results of the Collective Security Council session, which took place in Astana on November 28. A joint meeting of foreign ministers, defense ministers and secretaries of security councils was held there, followed by a meeting of the Collective Security Council with the participation of the heads of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
The Secretary General noted that Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the CSTO this year was given a very high assessment. “Kazakhstan traditionally demonstrates an interested and responsible approach to work in the CSTO format,” he said.
The CSTO Secretariat positively assesses the outcome of the meeting of the Collective Security Council. The key result of the meeting was that the heads of member states stated their commitment to the principles and objectives of the Organization and confirmed their intention to do everything necessary to support collective efforts to ensure regional security. A number of important documents were adopted on specific areas of the CSTO's activities aimed at its improvement and, in general, at ensuring security in the Organization's area of responsibility.
Thus, a number of important issues were considered at the CSC meeting. Among the key results of the discussions, the Secretary General noted:
First, the Declaration of the CSTO Collective Security Council adopted by the Heads of states;
Secondly, the Decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council “On the Special Interstate Policy of the Collective Security Treaty Organization for strengthening sections of the Tajik-Afghan Border”;
Thirdly, the Decision of the Collective Security Council “On further strengthening of allied relations within the Collective Security Treaty Organization”;
Fourthly, the Statement of the Collective Security Council in connection with the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and the Decision “On the Plan of Measures to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”;
In addition, documents concerning the equipping of components of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) with modern and promising models of armaments and military equipment were considered and signed.
According to the Secretary General, the heads of states has discussed in detail the military and political situation in the CSTO zone of responsibility and possible options for its development. “Geopolitical transformations and the changes that are taking place in the modern system of international security directly affect the processes in the CSTO zone of responsibility. The aggravation of contradictions provokes the emergence of new points of tension. The Organization's member States are particularly concerned about the challenges and threats, a substantial part of which are hybrid in nature. It seems that the decisions made and the results of the discussion are of great importance for ensuring regional security in Eurasia”, - Imangali Tasmagambetov emphasized.
During the meeting, the priority areas of activity during the period of the Kyrgyz Republic's chairmanship of the Collective Security Treaty Organization were presented. “In the near future, the CSTO Secretariat will start implementing the decisions adopted at the CSTO and working out the agreements reached,” the Secretary General noted.
About the Republic of Armenia
During the press conference the CSTO Secretary General noted that Armenia's non-participation in the CSTO discussions did not affect the efficiency of the Organization. Nevertheless, Armenia remains a CSTO ally.
“Armenia's non-participation in the discussion of all those issues that are addressed in the Organization does not affect the effectiveness of our work. Nevertheless, we proceed from the fact that the Republic of Armenia is our ally and all our obligations towards Armenia are preserved,” Imangali Tasmagambetov said.
He stressed that Armenia could return to full participation in the work of the Organization at any time, there were no objections or obstacles from the CSTO members.
About the CSTO trainings
The CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov informed the media that the CSTO trainings in 2025 would be held in the Republics of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and in the Kyrgyz Republic.
“The plan of operational and combat training for 2025 has also been adopted, and trainings will be held in the Republics of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Naturally, the “Rubezh-2025” command-staff training will be held in Kyrgyzstan,” Tasmagambetov said. He stressed that the Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense was very responsible in conducting such trainings, and also expressed confidence that next year's trainings would be held at a high organizational level.
On NATO military activity near the borders of Belarus and Russia
The CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov said that the CSTO recorded an increase in NATO military activity near the borders of Belarus and Russia, the current geopolitical turbulence couldn’t exclude any scenarios.
“We see the advancement of NATO's offensive infrastructure to the western borders of Belarus and Russia, the increase in military activity, and, yes, in general, the geopolitical turbulence we are witnessing cannot exclude any scenarios. But we are all aware of the fact that the Russian Federation has made very serious changes to its nuclear doctrine, and the testing in combat conditions of “Oreshnik”... cannot be ignored by potential adversaries,” Imangali Tasmagambetov said.
He emphasized that under such conditions, a possible NATO attack on the western borders of Belarus or Russia would be “absolute folly.”
On the work of the Russian military-industrial complex and arms deliveries
The CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov said at a press conference that the Russian military-industrial complex was working very effectively and military-technical cooperation between the CSTO countries continued.
“Military-technical cooperation of the CSTO countries continues. I must say that Russia's military-industrial complex is working very efficiently,” he said when asked about the situation with military-technical cooperation between Russia and the CSTO countries, answering the question about the situation with military-technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and the CSTO countries, taking into account Russia's conduct of the Special Military Operation.
“As for Russia's supplies of arms and military equipment to the CSTO countries, these are, by and large, issues of bilateral military-technical cooperation,” the CSTO Secretary General added. - The issue that is being discussed directly on the CSTO platforms is the issue of equipping the Collective Security Treaty Organization Collective Forces directly with modern and advanced weapons and military equipment”..
On Information Security and Forecasting and Analytical Work
Imangali Tasmagambetov noted the importance of information security in the list of the CSTO priorities.
“The CSTO holds many special events related to analyzing threats in the cyber security and information sphere and working out mechanisms to counter them. One of such operations is called “PROXY”. In the speech of the President of Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Sadyr Japarov, serious attention was paid to this issue. Kyrgyzstan is planning to hold an international conference on cyber security in 2025, where all these problems will be discussed. Information security for our countries is one of the significant factors in ensuring security in general,” the CSTO Secretary General stated.
He also noted the CSTO's serious intention to cooperate with expert-analytical centers and expert groups of the CSTO countries and, in general, to intensify forecasting and analytical work.
“We brought this work to a qualitatively new level last year,” Imangali Tasmagambetov said. - We made a request to the Security Council of the Russian Federation, since Moscow has a fairly extensive network of research institutes and forecasting structures. An instruction was given, in accordance with which we have built relationships with each of these research institutes, signed relevant memorandums, exchange information. Good work has been done with the scientific community of the CSTO countries, and documents confirming our readiness to work with them have been signed. Undoubtedly, this is yielding tangible results. Of course, full-scale work requires both personnel and finances. But the resources we have today enable us to better understand, assess and forecast the processes taking place in the CSTO area of responsibility”.
On the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory
The CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov told a press conference what events under the aegis of the CSTO were planned for the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
“The celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War is of exceptional importance. There is probably no need to talk about the fact that the multinational people of a once united large state were able to defeat fascism and defend peace and freedom. Naturally, we are now witnessing a disturbing trend when certain forces seek to whitewash fascism, rewrite history and revise the outcome of the Second World War”, - Imangali Tasmagambetov said.
Speaking about the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, the CSTO Secretary General stressed that the plan of events under the auspices of the Organization included scientific and practical conferences, international sports events, joint exhibitions. “At the conclusion of the meeting of the Collective Security Council, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin invited the heads of state to take part in the Victory Parade to be held on May 9, 2025,” Imangali Tasmagambetov added.
