The active phase of the joint training “Rubezh-2024” with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region (CAR CRDF), during which issues related to the preparation and conduct of combat operations to destroy illegal armed groups that have invaded the territory of a CSTO member state were practiced, was completed today in the Republic of Tajikistan at the “Harbmaidon” training range.
The active phase of the joint training “Rubezh-2024” with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region (CRDF CAR) began today in Tajikistan at the Harbmaidon training range. The theme of the training is “Preparation and conduct of combat operations by the CRDF CAR to destroy illegal armed groups that have invaded the territory of a CSTO member state”.
From October 14 to 16 in Tajikistan at the Harbmaidon training range, an operational training session is being held with the command of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Collective Security Region (CRDF CAR) on the subject of “Fundamentals of training and combat operations of the CRDF CAR to destroy illegal armed groups that have invaded the territory of a CSTO member state”.
In the period from October 8 to 11, 2024 on the basis of the Park-Hotel “Horizon” (Moscow region, Odintsovsky district, Yastrebki village) the XXI International tournament on complex martial arts among the security forces of the CSTO member states was held.
On October 11, 2024 in Moscow on the initiative of the Russian side a set of events on the subject of international information security in the CSTO area was held.
Abstracts of the speech of the CSTO Secretary General at a meeting of the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly
03.06.2024
Dear Chairman,
Dear members of the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly,
I am grateful for the invitation to speak at today’s meeting of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Undoubtedly, the systematic interaction between the Secretariat and the Parliamentary Assembly is an important factor in the progressive development of the CSTO.
Dear Council members,
The military-political situation in the world continues to undergo a profound transformation. The potential for conflict is growing in a number of regions directly adjacent to the CSTO area of responsibility. The situation in Eastern Europe and the Middle East is of serious concern. Internal political processes in Afghanistan remain complex and tangible risks remain in the South Caucasus.
At the same time, the CSTO is a key factor in maintaining stability in the Eurasian space, capable of ensuring the security of the Organization’s member states. The CSTO’s commitment to the unification agenda and the search for solutions for a comprehensive and long-term resolution of crisis situations, primarily through political and diplomatic means, remains unchanged. At the same time, today, taking into account new political realities, the need to further improve the activities of our Organization is of particular relevance.
In 2024, the Chairmanship of the CSTO passed to the Republic of Kazakhstan; the leitmotif of the current chairmanship is continuity and consistency. The emphasis is on further building up collective efforts to solve the four main statutory tasks in the military sphere, in the field of countering challenges and threats, worthy positioning of the Organization in the international arena, and expanding interaction along the parliamentary dimension. The CSTO Secretariat aims to implement the priorities of the Kazakh chairmanship in full.
The organization continues to use the proven multi-level mechanism of political consultations in its activities. With its help, member states find consensus in assessing international events, coordinate positions on a wide range of global and regional security issues, and pursue an agreed line on leading international platforms.
Joint statements by the CSTO member states remain a popular form of fixing agreed positions.
In the near future, we plan to adopt draft statements on such pressing issues of global and regional security as:
- about the situation in Afghanistan;
- use of outer space for peaceful purposes;
- cooperation in the field of international information security;
- on collective efforts to improve the situation in the Middle East and North Africa region;
- in connection with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders.
The organization continues to interact with the United Nations, paying special attention to peacekeeping and counter-terrorism tracks. Only in the last period, meetings were held at the CSTO Secretariat with the Special Representatives of the UN Secretary General for Afghanistan (R. Otunbaeva) and Central Asia (K. Imnadze). A detailed conversation took place on the most important area for us - Central Asia in connection with the political and socio-economic situation in Afghanistan.
The UN shows significant interest in the active participation of the CSTO in the consistent and comprehensive implementation of its Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. The Secretariat notes with satisfaction the adoption by the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (November 2022) of the traditional Resolution “Cooperation between the UN and the CSTO”. We hope that the next Resolution will be approved by the 79th session of the UN General Assembly this year.
As before, we pay special attention to creating the necessary administrative, legal and organizational conditions for integrating the CSTO peacekeeping potential into UN peacekeeping activities.
In this regard, I would like to thank all parliamentary delegations for completing the national procedures for ratifying the Protocol to the Agreement on Peacekeeping Activities of the CSTO. This document, establishing the institution of a “coordinating state,” came into force. We have taken another step towards the possible involvement of CSTO peacekeepers in operations under the auspices of the UN.
Taking into account the significant coincidence of approaches on key issues on the international agenda, cooperation with the CIS and the SCO is systematically developing in both bilateral and trilateral formats. The next meeting of the highest administrative officials of the CSTO, SCO and the CIS took place last year in Beijing. During the meeting, special attention was paid to practical interaction in the fight against terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, cross-border crime, as well as the development of more active interaction between information and analytical structures.
The focus of our common attention remains Afghanistan - the main source of instability, the source of cross-border challenges and threats in Central Asia. The organization continues to monitor the challenges and threats associated with the “Afghan knot”, and coordinate efforts to counter them using the capabilities of the Working Group on Afghanistan at the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers (WGA). It is necessary to note the growing interest in the work of the WGA of specialized structures of the UN, CIS, SCO and other international organizations.
Благодаря политической воле государств – членов Организации, мы прошли заключительный этап согласования проекта Целевой межгосударственной программы ОДКБ по укреплению таджикско-афганской границы. В нее включены конкретные меры, нацеленные на обеспечение безопасности южной части зоны ответственности Организации. Рассчитываем на то, что она будет принята на очередной сессии Совета коллективной безопасности ОДКБ, которая состоится в конце текущего года.
Thanks to the political will of the member states of the Organization, we have passed the final stage of agreeing on the draft CSTO Targeted Interstate Program for strengthening the Tajik-Afghan border. It includes specific measures aimed at ensuring the security of the southern part of the Organization's area of responsibility. We hope that it will be adopted at the next session of the CSTO Collective Security Council, which will take place at the end of this year.
The erosion of the international legal regime of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation makes this problem particularly urgent for our countries. At the recent consultations of specialists from member states of the Organization. The need for coordinated approaches at multilateral disarmament platforms on the problems of nuclear non-proliferation, militarization of space, and strengthening the regimes prohibiting biological and chemical weapons was emphasized. Of particular concern are the active development of military applications of artificial intelligence and the introduction of autonomous weapons systems.
At the present stage, the problem of ensuring international information security requires special, close collective attention. Within the framework of the CSTO, a mechanism has been launched to bring together positions and develop balanced approaches on this issue at relevant international platforms, primarily at the UN.
Purposeful work continues to strengthen the power component of our Organization. This year, measures are envisaged to increase the readiness of the components of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) and to improve the regulatory legal framework for ensuring operational deployment. The meeting of the CSTO Council of Defense Ministers held on May 31 was devoted to solving these problems. The key item on the agenda of the meeting was the adoption of the Plan for the joint training of command and control bodies and formations of forces and means of the CSTO collective security system for 2025.
The practical application of collective efforts in countering cross-border challenges and threats is carried out mainly within the framework of planned operational and preventive measures. Operation Channel is being implemented to suppress the spread of narcotic drugs. In order to ensure information security, as well as suppress crimes in the field of information and communication technologies, Operation "PROXY" is being carried out within the CSTO. The operation under the code name “Illegal” is intended to contribute to counteracting illegal migration. A regulatory framework has been prepared to combine efforts to ensure biological safety. An anti-terrorist set of measures is being successfully implemented under the code name “Mercenary”, the purpose of which is to block the channels of recruitment and departure of citizens of CSTO member states to participate in terrorist activities.
We all received with regret the reports of a cynical terrorist attack on civilians in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow in March of this year. All CSTO member states strongly condemned the terrorist attack. Special services acted promptly; as is known, the criminals were detained in the first hours after the crime was committed. The Belarusian special services actively helped the Russian ones in order to prevent the terrorists who committed this unprecedentedly brutal attack from traveling abroad. This daring and large-scale crime poses the task of all CSTO member states to develop up-to-date tools to counter the terrorist threat in the Organization’s area of responsibility.
Dear parliamentarians,
Anticipating your possible questions, I will say a few words about the situation with the Republic of Armenia. Over the past year, colleagues from Armenia have significantly reduced their participation in the Organization’s events. However, the basic mechanisms of interaction are functioning. The Republic of Armenia remains a full member of the Organization, all obligations towards this country are retained in full. We hope that the political leadership of the Republic will clarify the prospects for its relations with the CSTO. This would be to the benefit of all participants in our association, first of all, for the full planning of future joint activities.
In conclusion, I would like to note that the political and diplomatic format of interaction within the Parliamentary Assembly, which has been tested for many years, has proven its worth and effectiveness. Closer coordination in the work of the Secretariat and the Parliamentary Assembly can strengthen the Organization’s potential in countering the mentioned threats and contribute to the formation of a “security space” in Eurasia. This will be a key indicator of the effectiveness of our alliance and evidence of increasing attractiveness for potential partners.
Thank you for attention.
