The active phase of the joint exercise with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region (CRDF CAR) “Frontier-2026” has begun at the Koktal training range in the Republic of Kazakhstan. During the exercise, the participating forces are practicing the preparation and conduct of combat operations to destroy illegal armed formations that have invaded the territory of a CSTO member state.
On September 11, 2026, a round table entitled “Kazakhstan–Central Asia–Greater Eurasia: resilience and security amid new challenges” was held at the Center for Social Conservative Policy. The event was organized by the CSTO Secretariat jointly with the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ICCA RAS) and the Center for Social Conservative Policy (CSCP).
The event was attended by CSTO Secretary General Talatbek Masadykov, Director of the ICCA RAS Kirill Babaev, members of the CSTO Permanent Council and representatives of the academic and expert communities of the member states. The discussion was moderated by Yuri Shuvalov, Head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the CSTO Secretariat.
On September 4 this year, a round table entitled “CSTO–SCO: Security Space” was held as part of the business program of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. CSTO Secretariat representative Igor Panarin took part in the event.
A meeting was held between CSTO Secretary General Talatbek Masadykov and President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko
06.04.2026
On 6 April 2026, a meeting was held in Minsk between CSTO Secretary General Talatbek Masadykov and President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The parties held a detailed discussion on a wide range of international issues in the context of tasks related to strengthening security in the CSTO area of responsibility.
Talatbek Masadykov informed about the progress in implementing the Action Plan for the execution of decisions adopted at the November (2025) session of the CSTO Collective Security Council and the Organization’s priority areas of activity during Russia’s chairmanship. The document provides for active interaction among the member states across the full range of issues related to ensuring peace and stability in the Organization’s area of responsibility.
Among the key areas of joint work, the Secretary General highlighted preparations for upcoming meetings of the CSTO statutory bodies — the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils.
The Secretary General also informed about a series of large-scale joint exercises scheduled for the second half of the year, including “Indestructible Brotherhood”, “Interaction” and “Rubezh”, as well as special exercises “Cobalt” and “Skala”, and joint operations “Kanal”, “Mercenary” and “Illegal”.
Speaking about Belarus’ approaches to ensuring collective security, Aleksandr Lukashenko stated, in particular: “Belarus has always been a driving force in the development of relations within the CSTO and other structures in the former Soviet space. Our approaches are absolutely open. We conceal nothing and hide nothing. As for the CSTO, I proposed, long ago when the Organization was being formed (and even before that), a formula for action. We understand that Russia is the central element in this Organization. Everyone should clearly understand that, for example, in the western direction, Belarus is naturally the key element of the CSTO. And God forbid any conflict arises in this direction, Russia must always have here a core of armed forces that will join the Belarusian army in order to defend our common space.”
Addressing efforts to counter current challenges and threats, Talatbek Masadykov emphasized that special attention in the Organization’s activities is given to the development of analytical and forecasting components. “Amid the growing global crisis phenomena, we see an unconditional need for the most in-depth and objective analysis of the situation and for the development of appropriate recommendations. In this context, the Chairman of the CSTO Collective Security Council, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, has set the task of establishing a Eurasian Analytical Platform within the CSTO framework as a format for regular interaction among the expert and academic communities of the member states,” the CSTO Secretary General stated.
