An international scientific and practical conference entitled “The Situation in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahara-Sahel Region: Development Forecasts for 2027” was held in Moscow, organized by the Center for Scientific and Analytical Information of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
On October 18, 2026, the “Cobalt-2026” special exercise opened in the Republic of Tajikistan, in accordance with the 2026 Plan for the Joint Training of Command and Control Bodies and Formations of Forces and Assets of the CSTO Collective Security System. The exercise involves special units of internal affairs and national security agencies, internal troops (National Guard), special services and anti-drug agencies, as well as rescue units incorporated into the Special Purpose Forces formations of the CSTO Collective Operational Reaction Forces (CORF).
From October 13 to 16, 2025, the 23rd International Combat Sambo Tournament for the Cup of the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, featuring law enforcement personnel from CSTO member states, was held at the Ognikovo Park Hotel (19 Ognikovo, Istra District, Moscow Region).
Today, the final stages of 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” took place at the Losvido and Starodorozhsky training ranges in the Republic of Belarus.
On October 15–16, a CSTO, CIS and SCO conference on security issues in Central Asia and Afghanistan was held in Moscow as part of Russia’s CSTO chairmanship programme.
Issues of improving the communications system were discussed at a working meeting of the heads of the defense communications management bodies of the CSTO member states
10.04.2025
On 8-10 April, a working meeting of the heads of the defense communications management bodies of the CSTO member states is being held in Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic. Delegations from the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, the CSTO Joint Staff and industry representatives are taking part in the meeting.
In his video message to the participants in the working meeting, Colonel General Andrei Serdyukov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, drew attention to the need for joint efforts to prepare decisions at the interstate level that would help to improve the command and control system of coalition groupings of troops and to form common views and approaches to the development of the communications system as the technical basis of the command and control system. He also noted that targeted work in this area in the Joint Staff was organized and carried out in close cooperation with the defense departments of states.
In the course of the working meeting, the meeting participants discussed issues related to the interfacing of equipment and means of communication, taking into account the experience of contemporary local conflicts, the improvement of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) communications system and information cooperation. Particular attention is being paid to the consideration of the use in the contingents of CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) of promising means of communication that provide fundamentally new possibilities for organizing communications.
The working meeting resulted in the adoption of proposals aimed at improving the functioning of the communication system, and defined areas for improving the technical basis of the CSTO interstate information interaction system.
