On July 15, 2026, the High-Level Regional Meeting “Enhancing Capacities to Prevent the Supply of Weapons to Terrorists in Central Asia” was held in Moscow, organized by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism with the participation of the Russian side.
On July 14, 2026, a working meeting was held at the CSTO Secretariat between CSTO Deputy Secretary General Valery Semerikov and UN Assistant Secretary-General Alexander Zuev.
From July 7 to 9, second staff talks were held in the Russian Federation on the organization and conduct of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF) command-and-staff exercise “Interaction-2026”, the special reconnaissance exercise “Poisk-2026”, and the logistics support exercise “Echelon-2026”.
In accordance with the 2026 Action Plan of the Coordinating Council of Heads of the Competent Authorities for Countering Illicit Drug Trafficking of the CSTO Member States, and as part of the Russian Federation's priorities during its 2026 CSTO Chairmanship, the sub-regional counter-narcotics operation “Kanal – Amber Coast” was conducted from June 29 to July 3, 2026. The operation was aimed at disrupting trafficking routes for narcotic drugs, their precursors and analogues, new psychoactive substances, and potent substances into the CSTO area of responsibility, neutralizing international transnational drug trafficking groups, dismantling clandestine drug production facilities, undermining the economic foundations of the drug trade, including the laundering of drug proceeds.
MIR24 | Stanislav Zas: The CSTO will not bring troops into Afghanistan
31.08.2021"This fear is absolutely unfounded. The CSTO is a purely defensive political and military organization. It can use collective defensive forces only within the CSTO zone of responsibility," Zas said.
The situation in Afghanistan escalated after the USA announced its decision to end the operation in the country.. In the first decade of August, the Taliban (an organization banned in the Russian Federation) intensified its offensive against the government forces in Afghanistan. On August 15, within a few hours, the Taliban achieved full control over Kabul. President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani left the country. Muhammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban's political office, said that the war in Afghanistan was over, and the form of government in the state would be clarified soon. Panjsher to northeast of Kabul remains the only province not under Taliban control.
