Servicemen of the Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District (CMD) have arrived in the Republic of Belarus to take part in the command-and-staff exercise with the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces “Indestructible Brotherhood-2026” and the special exercise with the CSTO joint NBC protection and medical support formation “Barrier-2026”.
On October 7, 2026, the Fourth Counter-Terrorism Forum opened in Minsk (Republic of Belarus), bringing together the CIS Conference on Countering Terrorism and Extremism, the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure international scientific and practical conference, and joint counter-terrorism exercises.
October 7 marks the 24th anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which formalized the establishment of the CSTO as an international regional organization. The goals set out in the document, including strengthening peace and stability and collectively protecting the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the member states, remain the foundation for developing mutually beneficial, truly allied cooperation. On this basis, the Russian Federation is chairing the CSTO in 2026 under the motto “Collective security in a multipolar world: a common goal, shared responsibility.”
A meeting of the Coordination Council of the Heads of Competent Authorities for Countering Illicit Drug Trafficking of the CSTO Member States was held in Minsk
24.10.2023
On 24 October 2023, the 25th meeting of the Coordination Council of the Heads of Competent Authorities for Countering Illicit Drug Trafficking of the Member States of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (hereinafter referred to as CSTO CCBCD) was held in the city of Minsk.
The meeting was attended by heads of agencies and representatives of anti-drug units of the Ministries of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan and the CSTO Secretariat.
Opening the meeting of the Coordination Council, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Ivan Kubrakov, noted in his speech the great role and importance of the Coordination Council in the development and implementation of coordinated measures to counter illicit drug trafficking in the format of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The Minister also stressed that the activities of the Belarusian side in combating illicit drug trafficking during its chairmanship of the Organization had been a priority and highlighted the results of that work.
Andrei Khrapov, Chairman of the Coordination Council of Heads of Competent Authorities for Countering Illicit Drug Trafficking of CSTO Member States, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, noted that the Coordination Council had accumulated extensive experience of joint work and drew the attention of the meeting participants to the need to continue the practice of conducting and improving the effectiveness of coordinated anti-drug activities aimed at countering the drug threat. Through the efforts of the CSTO CCBCD, a mechanism of international cooperation has been established on a multilateral basis, and mutual understanding has been reached between the competent authorities of the states.
Valery Semerikov, the CSTO Deputy Secretary General, made a welcoming address to the meeting participants. He drew attention to the complex military and political situation in the Organization’s area of responsibility and its impact on the fulfilment of tasks related to countering challenges and threats to the security of our states, including those related to illicit drug trafficking. In his statement, the CSTO Deputy Secretary General noted the importance of closer cooperation in combating the drug threat with the relevant structures of international and regional organizations, such as the United Nations, the CIS and the SCO.
In the course of the meeting, a report on the results of the activities of the Coordination Council of the Heads of Competent Authorities for Countering Illicit Drug Trafficking in 2023 was considered, the heads of the competent bodies of the anti-drug agencies of the CSTO member states were briefed on the work done during the same period, and other issues related to improving the effectiveness of combating illicit drug trafficking and the functioning of the Coordination Council were discussed..
