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.”
The CSTO Military Committee has discussed issues of military cooperation development
12.04.2024
The 23rd meeting of the Military Committee on military cooperation development among the CSTO member states under the supervision of the Chairman of the Military Committee, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Valery Gerasimov, took place today via videoconferencing.
The meeting was attended by Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus, Major General Viktor Gulevich; First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Lieutenant General of Aviation Nurlan Karbenov; Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic, Major General Ruslan Mukambetov; Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Tajikistan Lieutenant General Emomali Sobirzoda; Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, Colonel General Andrei Serdyukov; the Deputy Secretary General of the CSTO Taalatbek Masadykov, representatives of the defense agencies of the Organization's member states, the CSTO Joint Staff and the CSTO Secretariat.
First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Lieutenant General of Aviation Nurlan Karbenov, made a report on the priority areas of CSTO activities in the military sphere, proposed by the Republic of Kazakhstan for the period of chairmanship in the Organization in 2024, and measures for their implementation.
Challenges and threats to military security in the CSTO collective security regions were discussed during the meeting. Lieutenant General Khasan Kaloyev, First Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff and Head of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) Planning and Training Centre, gave a presentation on the subject.
Colonel General Andrei Serdyukov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, made a report on measures for joint training of the CSTO collective security system's control bodies and formations of forces and means in 2024 and planned measures for 2025.
The members of the Military Committee have considered issues related to the organization of air defense in the CSTO Central Asian collective security region and the further development of the CSTO Collective Aviation Forces, information on which was reported by Lieutenant General Anatoly Yakovlev, Head of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) Application Planning Department - Deputy Head of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) Application Planning and Training Centre of the CSTO Joint Staff.
The meeting heard reports by representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the experience of the use by the armed forces of the Russian Federation of EW forces and means and strike drones, which the Military Committee recommended should be taken into account when conducting joint trainings in the CSTO format.
Summing up the results of the meeting of the CSTO Military Committee, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Valery Gerasimov, noted that it had been held in a businesslike and constructive manner and that its results would contribute to the progressive development and strengthening of the military security of the Organization's states.
