The Collective Security Treaty was signed on May 15, 1992 in Tashkent by the heads of six CIS member states - Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In September 1993, Azerbaijan joined it, in December 1993 – Georgia and Belarus. The treaty came into force for all nine countries in April 1994 for a period of five years. In April 1999, the Protocol on the extension of the Collective Security Treaty was signed by six of them (except for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan).
On May 14, 2002, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was established, uniting Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. In June 2006, the Decision was made
“On the restoration of membership of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the CSTO,” however, in December 2012, this country’s membership was suspended. Currently, the CSTO includes six states - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
On October 7, 2002, the CSTO Charter was adopted in Chisinau. In accordance with it, the main goals Organizations are strengthening peace, international and regional security and stability, protecting on a collective basis independence, territorial integrity and the sovereignty of member states, the achievement of which by member states gives priority to political means.
In 2017, the CSTO celebrated the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Collective Security Treaty and the 15th anniversary of the creation of the Organization. The anniversary Declaration adopted by the presidents notes that the CSTO is a dynamically developing basis for equal cooperation, ensuring a timely and adequate response to the changing situation in the world, and the established regulatory and legal framework of the Organization makes it possible to bring cooperation between the CSTO member states to a qualitatively new level and consolidate the commonality of strategic goals and transform the CSTO into one of the effective multifunctional structures that ensure security at the regional level.
The highest body of the CSTO, which considers fundamental issues of the Organization’s activities, is Collective Security Council (CSC) consisting of heads of state. The Chairman of the SKB is the head of the state presiding over the Organization (since November 8, 2018 – Kyrgyzstan). Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Defense, Secretaries of the Security Councils of Member States, the Secretary General of the Organization and invited persons can take part in the meetings of the CSC. Sessions of the CSTO CSC are held at least once a year. At the session of the CSTO Special Security Council (November 8, 2018), protocols were signed on amendments to statutory documents, according to which the head of government can be a member of the Council. Protocols are subject to ratification. Have not yet entered into force.
The advisory and executive bodies of the CSTO are Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA), coordinating the foreign policy activities of the CSTO member states; Council of Ministers of Defense (CMO), ensuring interaction between member states in the field of military policy, military development and military-technical cooperation; Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils (CSSC), in charge of national security issues. Meetings of these bodies are held at least twice a year.
In the period between sessions of the CSC, coordination of the CSTO activities is entrusted to Permanent Council(in force since March 2004), which consists of permanent and plenipotentiary representatives of the Member States.
The permanent working bodies of the CSTO are Secretariat And Joint Headquarters Organizations (operating since January 2004).
The Military Committee under the Council of Defense, the Coordination Council of Heads of Competent Authorities for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking of the CSTO Member States (CSTO), the Coordination Council of Heads of Competent Authorities of the CSTO Member States on Combating Illegal Migration (CCSBNM) and the Coordination Council for Emergency Situations of the CSTO Member States have been formed. members of the CSTO (KSChS). Since 2006, a Working Group on Afghanistan has been operating under the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers. In 2016, a Working Group was created under the CSTO Council of Defense to coordinate the joint training of military personnel and scientific work. The CSTO CSTO has a Working Group of Experts on Combating Terrorism and Extremism and a Working Group on Information Policy and Security. In December 2014, a decision was made to create the CSTO Consultation Coordination Center for responding to computer incidents. Since October 2017, the CSTO Crisis Response Center began operating in test mode.
The parliamentary dimension of the CSTO is developing. On November 16, 2006, on the basis of the IPA CIS in St. Petersburg, it was created CSTO Parliamentary Assembly(CSTO PA), which is the organ of inter-parliamentary cooperation of the Organization. On May 20, 2019, the next meeting of the CSTO PA will be held in Bishkek. In the period between plenary sessions, the activities of the CSTO PA are carried out in the format of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly and Standing Commissions (on defense and security issues, political issues And international cooperation, on socio-economic and legal issues), meetings of the Information and Analytical Legal Center of the Assembly and the Expert Advisory Council of the CSTO PA are held.
On November 24, 2016, the Chairman was elected Chairman of the CSTO PA State Duma Federal Assembly Russian Federation V.V. Volodin.
The People's Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the Wolesi Jirga of the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia have observer status with the CSTO PA. Representatives of Cuba and other countries participate in the meetings of the CSTO PA as guests.
The CSTO carries out its activities in cooperation with various international and regional organizations.
Since December 2, 2004, the Organization has observer status in the UN General Assembly. On March 18, 2010, a Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the UN Secretariats and the CSTO was signed in Moscow, which provides for the establishment of interaction between the two organizations, in particular in the field of peacekeeping. In its development, on September 28, 2012, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in New York between the CSTO Secretariat and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. During the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in November 2016, a resolution was adopted on cooperation between the UN and the CSTO, which considers the CSTO as an organization capable of providing an adequate response to a wide range of challenges and threats in its area of responsibility. The next similar resolution is planned to be adopted during the current
73rd session of the UN General Assembly. Productive contacts are maintained with other UN agencies, including the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
In October 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the CSTO Secretariat and the SCO Secretariat. In December 2009 - Memorandum of cooperation between the CSTO Secretariat and the CIS Executive Committee. On May 28, 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on issues of cooperation and interaction between the CSTO Secretariat, the SCO RATS and the CIS ATC. In April 2019, a meeting of the secretaries general of the CIS, SCO and CSTO took place.
Contacts are maintained with the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the International Organization for Migration and other international structures. The CSTO stands for the development of dialogue with ASEAN and the African Union.
As the Organization develops, its legal framework is strengthened, which, in addition to its statutory documents, includes about 50 different agreements and protocols. Of fundamental importance are the set of decisions of the CSTO CSTO on the creation of collective forces, foreign policy coordination, the Collective Security Strategy, the Anti-Drug Strategy, the Roadmap for creating conditions for the use of the CSTO peacekeeping potential in the interests of global UN peacekeeping activities, etc.
Military cooperation in the CSTO format is carried out in accordance with the Decision of the CSTO CSTO “On the Main Directions for the Development of Military Cooperation of the CSTO Member States for the Period until 2020” adopted in 2012.
The components of the power potential of the CSTO collective security system have been formed.
In 2001, the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces (CRDF) were created to ensure the security of the CSTO member states in the Central Asian region. The Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF) of the CSTO, formed in 2009, including military contingents and special forces formations, became a multifunctional component of the CSTO collective security system. The Peacekeeping Forces (PF) of the Organization were created, the corresponding Agreement on which came into force in 2009. In order to increase the efficiency of the actions of collective forces, in accordance with the decision of the CSTO CSTO, adopted in 2014, the formation of the Collective Aviation Forces (CAF) of the CSTO was completed.
The composition of the forces and means of the collective security system has been determined and normatively established, and their joint operational and combat training is carried out on a regular basis.
From October 1 to November 2, 2018, operational-strategic exercises with CSTO contingents took place on the territory of Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The Brotherhood of War- 2018", which included the tactical and special exercise "Search-2018" with reconnaissance forces and means (October 1-5, Kazakhstan), "Air Bridge - 2018" with the Collective Aviation Forces (October 1-14, Russia), "Interaction - 2018" with the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (October 10-13, Kyrgyzstan), "Indestructible Brotherhood - 2018" with the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces (October 30 - November 2, Russia).
On May 18 - 23, 2018, in the Almaty region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, exercises of special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from the special forces formation “Cobalt-2018” were held.
In the field of military-technical cooperation, mechanisms for supplying weapons and special equipment to allies, providing military-technical assistance to CSTO member states are being improved, and joint training of military personnel has been organized. The concept of training military personnel was approved. Since 2006, the Interstate Commission on Military-Economic Cooperation of the CSTO has been operating. On November 8, 2018, the session of the CSTO Special Security Council adopted a decision to appoint Yu.I. Borisov, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, to this post.
On November 20, 2012, the Protocol on the deployment of military infrastructure facilities on the territories of the CSTO member states, signed at the session of the CSTO Special Security Council (December 2011), entered into force, in accordance with which decisions
on the placement of military infrastructure facilities of “third” countries on the territory of the CSTO member states can only be accepted in the absence of official objections from all member states of the Organization.
Within the framework of the KSOPN (established in 2005), there are three Working Groups: for the coordination of operational investigative activities, for the exchange of information resources and for personnel training. Chairman of the Coordination Council - State Secretary-Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia I.N. Zubov.
The fundamental document in the field of anti-drug activities of the CSTO is the “Anti-drug strategy of the CSTO member states” approved at the December (2014) session of the CSTO Council in Moscow
for 2015-2020.” Since 2003, the international comprehensive anti-drug operation “Channel” has been carried out on the territory of the CSTO member states (since 2008 it has been transformed into a permanent one). Total from 2003 to 2019 30 stages of Operation Canal were carried out. As a result of the last stage of the “Canal Center” (February 26 - March 1 of this year), 11.5 tons of drugs were seized from illicit trafficking, 784 drug crimes were identified, and about 4 thousand criminal cases were initiated.
Law enforcement, border, customs authorities, security services, and financial intelligence units of the CSTO member states took part in the operation. The observers were representatives law enforcement Afghanistan, Great Britain, Iran, Italy, China, Mongolia, USA, Turkey, France and staff of UNODC, Interpol, OSCE, Central Asia Drug Prevention Program, Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, Committee of Heads of Customs Law Enforcement Units services of the CIS, RATS SCO, Bureau for Coordination of Combating Organized Crime and other dangerous species crimes on the territory of the CIS member states, the Criminal Intelligence Center for Combating Drugs of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf.
In the field of combating illegal migration of citizens of third (in relation to the CSTO) countries, under the auspices of the Organization, there functions the Coordination Council of Heads of Competent Bodies of the CSTO Member States on Combating Illegal Migration (CSTOM), as well as a Working Group, the members of which are the heads of structural divisions of internal affairs bodies affairs, security services, migration and border services. Since 2008, operational and preventive measures “Illegal” have been carried out, the purpose of which is to identify and suppress violations of migration legislation. Since 2018, “Illegal” has been given the status of a permanent operation. Hundreds of thousands of crimes in this area have been stopped, over 1,600 people who were on the international wanted list have been detained. As part of Operation Illegal 2018, over 73 thousand violations of migration legislation by persons from third countries were identified, dubious financial transactions were identified, channels of human trafficking were opened, and about 1,550 criminal cases were initiated.
On a regular basis, special activities are carried out aimed at identifying and suppressing channels for the recruitment of citizens into the ranks of terrorist organizations, and effective work to prevent the penetration of militants from armed conflict zones into the CAR. In April-May 2019, for the first time, a set of operational and preventive measures was carried out to block recruitment channels, entry and exit of citizens of CSTO member states to participate in terrorist activities, as well as neutralize the resource base of international terrorist organizations in the CSTO space under the name “Mercenary”.
In order to combat crimes in the information environment, Operation PROXY has been carried out (since 2014 - on an ongoing basis). In 2018, as a result of the operation, 345,207 information resources were identified that were aimed at inciting national and religious hatred, disseminating terrorist and extremist ideas in the interests of criminal groups, etc. The activities of 54,251 resources were suspended and 720 criminal cases were initiated. As a result of countering the use of the Internet for illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic and psychoactive substances, 1,832 illegal information resource, of which 1,748 were blocked, 560 facts of criminal activity were revealed. 594 criminal cases were initiated. Based on the revealed facts indicating criminal activities related to illegal migration and human trafficking in the CSTO member states, 120 criminal cases have been initiated.
Foreign policy coordination is built on the basis of annual plans for consultations of representatives of the CSTO member states on issues foreign policy, security and defense, as well as lists of topics for joint statements. Working meetings at the level of foreign ministers of the CSTO member states on the sidelines of the session of the UN General Assembly and the OSCE Ministerial Council have become regular.
In September 2011, “Collective instructions to permanent representatives of the CSTO member states to international organizations” were adopted (updated in July 2016). Coordination meetings are held between ambassadors of member states in third countries. In 2018, it was decided to appoint persons responsible for interaction on cooperation issues within the CSTO in foreign institutions.
Since 2011, about 80 joint statements of the CSTO member states have been adopted at various international platforms.
On September 26, 2018, a traditional working meeting of the foreign ministers of the CSTO member states was held in New York on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. An exchange of views took place on priority issues on the UN agenda, interaction between the CSTO and the UN, the fight against terrorism and ensuring regional security, and the progress of preparations for the upcoming meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council (CSC) was discussed. Joint statements were adopted “On the situation in Afghanistan, the strengthening of the position of ISIS in the northern provinces of the country and the growth of the drug threat from the territory of the IRA”, “On efforts to stabilize the situation in the Middle East and North Africa”, “On intensifying cooperation of the CSTO with regional organizations and structures”.
The next meeting of the CSTO CSC took place on November 8, 2018 in Astana. The final declaration of the CSTO summit was adopted, as well as a statement by the heads of CSTO member states on coordinated measures against participants in armed conflicts on the side of international terrorist organizations. The Council approved a package of documents on the legal registration of observer and partner status of the CSTO and a number of other documents in the field of military cooperation, crisis response, countering international terrorism, and illegal migration.
On the prospects for the development of the CSTO. World of Changes publishes the full version of the document.
Brief historical background
The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992, six months after the collapse of the USSR. Its main task was to maintain interaction between the armies of the newly formed independent states in the post-Soviet space.
The founding states were Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 1993, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia joined the treaty.
In 1999, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to renew their membership in the CST and focused on work in GUAM ( GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) is an anti-Russian organization created in 1997 to establish horizontal ties between post-Soviet republics in the interests of the United States and the European Union. During the periods of Uzbekistan's membership, the organization was called GUUAM. Currently, GUAM is not an active and actually working structure, despite the fact that no formal decision has been made to dissolve it, and the GUAM Secretariat located in Kyiv regularly issues press releases in Russian about its work).
In 2002, it was decided to transform the DKB into a full-fledged international organization.
On October 7, 2002, the Charter and Agreement on legal status CSTO. The documents establishing the CSTO were ratified by all participating countries and entered into force on September 18, 2003.
On November 16, 2006, the heads of parliaments of the CSTO member countries adopted a resolution on the creation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO PA).
In 2009, the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF) was created. Their task is to repel military aggression, conduct special operations to combat international terrorism, transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, as well as eliminate the consequences of emergency situations. CRRF exercises are held on a regular basis.
On December 21, 2015, the heads of the CSTO member states adopted a Statement on Countering International Terrorism, in which they declared their intention to “consistently strengthen the power potential of the CSTO, increase its counter-terrorism component, and increase the combat readiness of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces in order to effectively counter new challenges and threats.”
On October 14, 2016, the CSTO Collective Security Council (CSC) in Yerevan adopted a decision to approve the Collective Security Strategy until 2025, as well as additional measures to combat terrorism and create a Crisis Response Center.
The Secretary General of the CSTO since 2003 is Nikolai Bordyuzha.
CSTO: Birth traumas and irremovable contradictions
The largest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century - the collapse of the Soviet Union - had a particularly serious impact on the ability of states that suddenly and often unwillingly gained independence to maintain an adequate level of security - both external and internal.
If the European post-Soviet republics (with the exception of Moldova, which failed to curb its own nationalists and as a result lost Transnistria) faced a maximum increase in crime in the early 90s, the Central Asian countries found themselves alone with the threat of international terrorism and religious extremism.
The most serious situation was in Tajikistan, with its long border with Afghanistan. The civil war in this country threatened with extremely serious consequences not only for Tajikistan itself, but also for neighboring countries. That is why Russia, which took upon itself the protection of the Tajik-Afghan border, and Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, actively participated in national reconciliation in the republic.
“Leading figures of Tajikistan have repeatedly noted the important military-political role of the CST in the process of achieving national reconciliation. And now, within the framework of the CSTO, this country is receiving significant political, military and military-technical assistance,” says the version of the CSTO website that worked until 2012 in the “General Information” section.
The CSTO was initially focused primarily on solving the problems of maintaining security in Central Asia. A few more quotes from old version organization website:
“At the initial stage, the Treaty contributed to the creation of national armed forces of the participating states and provision of adequate external conditions for their independent state building. This is evidenced by the relevance of the Treaty in a number of cases of application of its provisions.
The capabilities of the Treaty were used in the fall of 1996 and the summer of 1998 in connection with the dangerous developments in Afghanistan in close proximity to the borders of the Central Asian states parties to the CST, in order to prevent attempts by extremists to destabilize the situation in this region.
In 1999 and 2000, as a result of promptly implemented measures by the states parties to the CST, with the participation of Uzbekistan, the threat created by large-scale actions of armed groups of international terrorists in the south of Kyrgyzstan and in other areas of Central Asia was neutralized."
The regulatory legal acts on the basis of which the CST structures worked are the “Declaration of the CST Participating States” adopted in 1995, the “Concept of Collective Security of the CST Participating States”, the document on the “Main Directions for Deepening Military Cooperation”, the implementation plan for the Collective Security Concept and Main directions for deepening military cooperation.
In 1999, the Plan for the second stage of the formation of a collective security system was approved, which provided for the formation of coalition (regional) groupings of troops (forces) in the Eastern European, Caucasian and Central Asian directions.
In the 90s, the CST had no chance of becoming a full-fledged and effective international organization due to the large number of claims its participants had against each other.
Armenia and Azerbaijan, both then and now, were essentially at war with each other. Georgia, both then and now, accused Russia of “separatism” in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, although it should be noted that Moscow in the 90s pursued a much tougher policy towards unrecognized states than in the 2000s. Abkhazia was actually under an economic blockade, South Ossetia and Transnistria were left to their own devices.
Uzbekistan tried to pursue what was called a “balanced” policy in Tashkent, but as a result it simply rushed between Moscow and Washington, either entering the CST, then moving from there to GUAM, then agreeing to the creation of an American military base, then demanding that the United States immediately leave its territory.
Of course, NATO also has examples of how members of the alliance are countries that “dislike” each other, such as Greece and Turkey, but such tension, and even more so direct military clashes between them, as is the case with some former members DKB, hasn't happened for a long time.
But perhaps main problem The CST, which was inherited by the CSTO, was the initial refusal of serious attempts to integrate the largest post-Soviet republic after Russia militarily - Ukraine.
Of course, Kyiv and Moscow were subject to serious pressure from the West in the 90s; the “neutrality” of Ukraine was one of the conditions for the withdrawal nuclear weapons from its territory. But the absence of Ukraine in the defensive alliance created by Russia, of course, laid the preconditions for the drift of this country towards NATO and the growing anti-Russian orientation of Ukrainian politics, which reached its apogee during the so-called “Euromaidan”.
The CST in the form in which it existed in the 90s could not quickly respond to the challenges of the time; its reform or dissolution was inevitable.
Work to prepare for the reformatting of the organization began in 2000. An agreement was signed on the basic principles of Military-Technical Cooperation (MTC). In 2001, the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region were created, which were staffed by four battalions from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with a total strength of 1,500 people.
At the same time, the bodies of political management and interstate consultations were improved. The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils were created. The Secretariat of the CSC was organized, a consultation process was established at the level of the CSC, the Council of Foreign Ministers and the Council of Defense with the participation of deputy ministers of foreign affairs and defense, experts of the participating states, and their Plenipotentiary Representatives at Secretary General Collective Security Council.
The decision to transform the Collective Security Treaty into an international regional organization in accordance with Chapter VIII of the UN Charter was made in Moscow in May 2002 by the heads of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
Neutral Chisinau was chosen as the location for the creation of the CSTO. On October 7, 2002, a summit of the heads of state of the CIS was held in the capital of Moldova, during which the heads of the CST member countries signed statutory documents on the transformation of the latter into the CSTO.
Moldova, we note, just like Ukraine, from the very beginning of its independence, refrained from participating in military cooperation with Russia - due to dissatisfaction with the stay Russian troops in Transnistria. The communist Vladimir Voronin, who headed this republic in 2002, was considered a “pro-Russian” president until November of the following year, when at the last moment he refused to sign the already initialed document on the Transnistrian settlement, the so-called “Kozak Memorandum.” After this, there was no longer any talk about Moldova’s possible membership in the CSTO.
CSTO in 2002-2016: through contradictions to strengthen the union
In 2002-2003, when the CSTO was created, most countries considered international terrorism to be the main global threat, as now. The United States was conducting operations in Afghanistan and preparing to invade Iraq. Russian-American relations have experienced a period of relative growth after a sharp deterioration in 1999, when the United States and NATO bombed Yugoslavia without UN authorization.
Initially, no serious political component was planned within the CSTO, only ensuring the security of the participating countries. Political dialogue in Central Asia was conducted either on the basis of the CIS or within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), created in 2001 on the basis of the Shanghai Five, formed as a result of the signing in 1996-1997. agreements between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia and Tajikistan on confidence-building in the military field. Uzbekistan also joined the SCO. The goals and objectives of the SCO were strengthening stability and security in a wide area uniting member states, combating terrorism, separatism, extremism, drug trafficking, developing economic cooperation, energy partnership, scientific and cultural interaction.
It should also be emphasized that the CSTO was not considered as an alternative to NATO. The objectives of the organization were security in Central Asia, as well as military-technical cooperation of the participating countries. The unrestrained, cancer-like expansion of NATO has never been an example to follow for the CSTO members.
However, over time, it became clear that cooperation within the executive branch alone was not enough - to ensure the proper level of interaction, harmonization of legislation was required.
On June 23, 2006, the Minsk session of the CSTO Collective Security Council determined the need to develop the parliamentary dimension of the CSTO within the framework of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. Based on this decision and on the Convention on the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the chairmen of the parliaments of the CIS member states of the CSTO at a meeting on November 16, 2006 adopted a resolution on the creation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO PA).
As stated on the CSTO PA website, “three permanent commissions have been created within the assembly - on defense and security issues, on political issues and international cooperation, and on socio-economic and legal issues.
In accordance with the Regulations on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the CSTO PA discusses issues of cooperation between the CSTO member states in the international, military-political, legal and other fields and develops appropriate recommendations, which it sends to the Collective Security Council (CSC) and other CSTO bodies and national parliaments. In addition, the CSTO PA adopts model legislative and other legal acts aimed at regulating relations within the sphere of competence of the CSTO, as well as recommendations for bringing together the laws of the CSTO member states and bringing them into conformity with the provisions of international treaties concluded by these states within the CSTO."
The full-fledged work of various CSTO structures, unfortunately, has repeatedly been made dependent on the current political or economic situation. For example, negotiations on the creation of the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF), the main fighting force of the CSTO, in June 2009 were overshadowed by the so-called “milk war” between Russia and Belarus. As a result, representatives of Minsk refused to participate in the CSTO meeting under the pretext that military security is impossible without economic security.
This cast doubt on the legitimacy of the decision to create the CRRF, because according to paragraph 1 of Rule No. 14 of the Rules of Procedure of the CSTO bodies, approved by the CSTO Decision of June 18, 2004, the non-participation of a member country of the organization in meetings of the Collective Security Council, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers , the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils means the lack of consent of a member country of the organization to make decisions considered by these bodies.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed a package of documents on Belarus’ accession to the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces only on October 20, 2009.
In June 2010, President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otumbaeva appealed to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with a request to introduce the CRRF into the territory of this country in connection with unrest and interethnic clashes in the Osh and Jalalab regions. Medvedev responded that “the criterion for the use of CSTO forces is the violation by one state of the borders of another state that is part of this organization. There is no talk about this yet, because all of Kyrgyzstan’s problems are rooted internally. They are rooted in the weakness of the previous government, in their reluctance to deal with the needs of the people. I hope that all the problems that exist today will be resolved by the authorities of Kyrgyzstan. The Russian Federation will help."
This statement became the subject of criticism from the President of Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko said that the CRRF must enter Kyrgyzstan and restore order there. As a result, a compromise decision was made - a reinforced battalion of the 31st Airborne Assault Brigade was delivered to the Russian Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan to ensure security. Representatives of the CSTO, in turn, took part in the search for the organizers of the riots and ensured coordination of cooperation to suppress the activities of terrorist groups that actually influenced the situation from Afghanistan. Also, CSTO specialists were engaged in identifying instigators and instigators of hatred on the Internet. Non-lethal special equipment, special equipment, and vehicles, including helicopters, were sent to Kyrgyzstan.
Following the events in Kyrgyzstan, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha issued a special statement, which, in particular, said that all CSTO member countries agreed that the introduction of peacekeeping troops into the republic during mass unrest was inappropriate: “The introduction of troops could would provoke an even greater aggravation of the situation in the region as a whole,” he noted.
In 2011, the same Alexander Lukashenko took the initiative to use the CRRF to prevent coups d'etat. “Because no one will go against us through war, at the front, but to carry out a constitutional revolution, many people’s hands are itching,” he noted then.
In 2012, the CSTO left Uzbekistan for the second time - among the reasons given were both disagreement with the organization’s policy towards Afghanistan and bilateral contradictions with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. This was not a serious blow to the CSTO - Uzbekistan’s participation during its “second coming” was largely formal.
However, as the terrorist threat in the Middle East and Central Asia intensified and NATO forces approached the borders of Russia and Belarus, it became clear that there was no alternative to the CSTO in the current situation. Ensuring internal and external security, as well as military-technical cooperation between our countries, is possible only with constant and effective interaction between all structures responsible for security, including parliamentary interaction.
By 2016, the CSTO approached as a fairly united and cohesive organization. Exercises of both the CRRF and other structures are regularly held, concepts and strategies are being developed, and interaction has been established with the UN, SCO, CIS, EAEU and other international organizations.
On this occasion, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha has repeatedly noted that coverage of the CSTO’s activities in Russia is not at the proper level.
“I would like to refer to our latest experience - this is holding a motorcycle rally in the CSTO member states, with the exception of Armenia, since we were purely technical problems. Representatives of some bike clubs, together with representatives of the Minsk motorcycle plant, traveled through all the states of the bloc, met with the population everywhere, laid wreaths at the graves of military personnel who died in the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War. According to their estimates, in all states, including in small settlements, they know quite well about the CSTO, with the exception of the Russian Federation,” he noted at a press conference in 2013.
CSTO PA: great quality potential
Activation of inter-parliamentary cooperation within the framework of the CSTO PA with member countries of the organization, observers and all organizations interested in cooperation becomes important element international security in the Eurasian space and throughout the world.
Some optimism about the development of the situation around the CSTO is inspired by the unanimous election of the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin, to a similar post in the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly.
This, on the one hand, is a traditional decision - previously the CSTO PA was headed by the speakers of the State Duma of the previous and the year before last convocations Sergei Naryshkin and Boris Gryzlov, respectively. But, judging by the changes that took place at the initiative of Vyacheslav Volodin in the State Duma, his chairmanship of the CSTO PA will not be “traditional”.
“It is obvious that the priority direction of the Assembly’s work for the next four years will be the implementation of the program to harmonize the national legislation of the member states of the Treaty - work began this year, the program is designed until 2020. And enough tasks have accumulated; security issues are among the top priorities. Five draft documents on the reconciliation of national laws have already been prepared by the CSTO Standing Committee on Defense and Security. They concern issues of fighting corruption, drug trafficking, countering technological terrorism, training personnel in the area of “Security in Emergency Situations,” and responding to crisis situations,” notes one of the Russian federal newspapers.
In his first speech in his new post, Volodin noted that the CSTO currently faces a number of priority tasks, including, in particular, accelerating the formation of a single legal space in the field of defense and security on the territory of the CSTO. Among other important areas of work, he named the parliamentary response to crisis situations not only in the CSTO space, but also beyond its borders.
Afghanistan and Serbia are already observers in the CSTO. Iran and Pakistan should receive this status in 2017. According to the Vice-Speaker of the CSTO PA, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Yuri Vorobyov, Moldova showed interest in interaction with the CSTO - after the election of socialist Igor Dodon as president, who has repeatedly stated the need to restore ties with Russia, relations between Moscow and Chisinau may, if not radically improve, then at least become less ideological and more pragmatic.
Among the tasks facing the CSTO PA and the organization as a whole, one can also note the need to establish such interaction with the structures of the CIS, EAEU, SCO and others, which would eliminate duplication of functions and unnecessary competition between employees of the apparatus of these organizations. All of the above interstate organizations face different tasks, and a “hardware war”, or rather, not even a war, but excessive competition will only lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of interaction in all areas, including security.
The organization itself remains quite closed, too focused on very specific security issues, which do not always become public. Experts note that the new chairman of the CSTO PA will be able to give impetus to the public component of the work, firstly, of the Parliamentary Assembly itself, and secondly, of the entire CSTO as a whole.
Here we can say that security issues will require a clear, understandable, and relevant legislative process. The dialogue of civil societies on security issues is becoming an important factor. Today there is a kind of debate going on between those who believe that democratic procedures should dominate the system, and between those who believe that security issues today require a departure from some principles. In this case, Volodin’s participation in this discussion will modernize it and raise it to the level of development of the entire civil society. And at the same time it will bring it into line with legislative needs and constitutional status.
The international agenda in the world remains tense, and the election of US President Donald Trump has added unpredictability to the foreign policy of this strongest and most influential country. IN similar situation states interested in maintaining peace and internal tranquility should combine their efforts as much as possible both in the fight against international terrorism and with the desire masquerading as “democratization” and “the fight for human rights” Western countries impose their values and weaken as much as possible the traditional way of life in countries of Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia.
Cooperation within the CSTO is a striking example of how the most militarily powerful member of the organization, Russia, does not seek to impose its own values on other participants and does not interfere in the internal politics of its partners.
Everyone knows about the NATO military bloc, which includes the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Spain and other states.
Russia is a member of another military-political alliance - the CSTO.
What is the CSTO?
Since 1992, seven states:
Republic of Armenia,
Republic of Belarus,
The Republic of Kazakhstan,
Russian Federation,
The Republic of Tajikistan,
The Republic of Uzbekistan
are parties to the Collective Security Treaty. That is, these seven sovereign (independent) states are protected according to the principle “one for all, and all for one”!
To carry out the tasks of collective security, on September 18, 2003, the ABOUT organization D clause about TO collective B safety, in short - CSTO. Today the CSTO is a large, very serious organization in which representatives of all seven member states work together, because we have common tasks and can only be solved through joint efforts.
What do CSTO employees do?
1. Employees of the CSTO Secretariat, which is located in Moscow, coordinate foreign policy issues. Since we have common security, it means that we must build our own relations and relations with other states that are not members of the CSTO in a coordinated manner.
2. Employees of the CSTO Secretariat organize and ensure interaction between the armies of our countries. To ensure collective resistance to the enemy, armies must act in a coordinated and organized manner. Therefore, joint exercises of the armies of our countries are regularly held. The commands of the armies of the CSTO member countries are working on various scenarios for joint military operations to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a state that has been subjected to aggression.
It is important that all CSTO exercises practice specific tasks. For example, the exercises in Armenia were fundamentally different from the exercises in Kazakhstan: the locality in these countries is very different. Therefore, in a small area mountainous country Armored vehicles, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, air defense systems and aviation were involved in the exercises. And in Kazakhstan, a country with its own navy, warships, amphibious assault forces and coast guard units of Kazakhstan and Russia were also involved in the maneuvers.
3.
The CSTO countries are jointly fighting drug trafficking and illegal arms trafficking.
Drug trafficking is the route through which drugs are supplied. A large number of drugs come to Russia, for example, from Afghanistan. But Russia does not have a common border with Afghanistan, which means that drugs travel a long way through several countries. If you try to catch criminals only when they try to smuggle drugs or weapons across the Russian border, then you might miss someone. But if EVERY country tries to stop the passage of drugs and weapons for bandits and terrorists through its territory, then it will become almost impossible for criminals to break through.
4.
The CSTO countries are jointly fighting illegal migration.
Every decent citizen of any country in the world can go to rest, study or work in any other country. To do this, you need to inform your state (get a passport) and the state you are entering (get a visa). Your stay abroad will be controlled by special services of this country: they will make sure that you do exactly the business for which you came and that you leave the country for your homeland on time, within the period for which you were issued a visa.
But, unfortunately, there are always people who either enter a foreign country illegally or do not return to their homeland on time. Such actions are considered a crime and people who are in a foreign country illegally are called “illegal migrants.”
5.
Employees of the CSTO Secretariat coordinate the actions of special and public services when eliminating the consequences of emergency incidents - major industrial accidents and natural disasters.
In the USSR, all Republics always came to each other's aid. Terrible destructive earthquakes in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) in 1948, in Spitak (Armenia) in 1988, the Chernobyl accident nuclear power plant(Ukraine) in 1986 - the consequences of these and many other disasters were eliminated together.
Today, CSTO employees, in the best good-neighborly traditions of the USSR, organize interstate assistance in preventing and eliminating the consequences of disasters.
6.
Employees of the CSTO Secretariat are working on creating a “CSTO peacekeeping contingent.”
Sometimes internal contradictions on the territory of any state lead to civil war, as was the case in Russia at the beginning of the last century, when siblings could turn out to be enemies, fighting one for the “whites”, the other for the “reds, for example. Today, in such cases, “ peacekeeping forces" - troops of other states. “Peacekeepers” do not take sides, they protect everyone from everyone, that is, they simply make sure that no one in the country fights at all, thereby protecting the civilian population. “Peacemakers” stay in the country until the government of that country figures out how they can live peacefully.
In addition, the CSTO countries constantly exchange information with each other about existing and potential (possible) threats and conduct joint exercises of their armies so that, if necessary, they can coherently act as a united front.
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The formation of a collective security system in the post-Soviet space began almost immediately after the collapse of the USSR. Thus, on February 14, 1992, a decision was made to create the Council of Ministers of Defense (CMO) and the Main Command of the United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS Joint Forces), and on March 20 of the same year, the Agreement on the Joint Armed Forces for the transitional period was signed.
Thus, an attempt was made to preserve a common defense space and transform the former Soviet Army into a common armed force for all members of the CIS. However, in parallel with this, diametrically opposite trends developed and intensified - many former USSR republics began to form their own armies. This actually led to the division and nationalization by the newly independent states of the armed forces, equipment and property of the Soviet Army stationed on their territories.
Thus, already in the spring of 1992 it became clear that it was impossible to maintain a centralized CIS army under unified control. There were many reasons for this: from the strengthening of centrifugal forces and the collapse of the command and control system to the flaring up between former republics USSR conflicts. At the same time, the leadership of most republics had a growing understanding that qualitatively new forms and mechanisms of integration in the military-political sphere were needed, which would allow creating a more effective security system with significantly lower economic, scientific and technical costs, and reducing the escalation of armed conflicts in the post-Soviet space. It was with these factors in mind that on May 15, 1992, in Tashkent, representatives of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan concluded a Collective Security Treaty. During September - December 1992, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Republic of Belarus acceded to the Treaty.
On April 20, 1994, immediately after the submission of instruments of ratification by the signatory states, the Treaty entered into force. On November 1, 1995, the agreement was registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations, in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of which the CST was concluded.
After the Treaty entered into force, a number of important legal documents were adopted that promoted the process of military
political integration in various areas within its competence. Among them, it is worth noting the “Declaration of the States Parties to the CST” and the “Concept of Collective Security of the States Parties to the CST” adopted in 1995. In the same year, the “Plan for the Implementation of the Concept of Collective Security” and the “Main Directions for Deepening Military Cooperation” were adopted, which set the task of organizing regional collective security systems. The “Plan for the second stage of the formation of a collective security system”, approved in 1999, already provided for the formation of regional coalition groupings of troops in the Eastern European, Caucasian and Central Asian directions.
At the Session of the Collective Security Council on April 2, 1999 in Moscow, the “Protocol on the extension of the Collective Security Treaty” was signed and then ratified. The Protocol provided for the automatic extension of the Treaty for successive five-year periods.
A qualitatively new stage in the development of the Treaty was opened by the “Memorandum on increasing the effectiveness of the CST and its adaptation to the modern geopolitical situation” adopted by the Collective Security Council in 2000, the implementation of which aimed the Treaty at reflecting new challenges and threats to regional and international security.
At the same time, the “Regulations on the procedure for making and implementing collective decisions on the use of forces and means of the collective security system”, “Model of a regional collective security system”, “Basic provisions of the coalition strategy” were approved, designed to form an organizational and legal basis for the activities of the CST in the field of ensuring on a collective basis for the security of its member states.
Of fundamental importance in this regard were the “Agreement on the status of formations of forces and means of the collective security system” and “Protocol on the procedure for the formation and functioning of forces and means of the collective security system of the CST member states” signed in 2000-2001.
The logical step in the formation and development of the military component of the CST was the creation, by decision of the CSC in 2001, of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Collective Security Region, which were staffed by four battalions from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (one from each state) with a total strength of one and a half thousand people with a military command authority.
At the same time, the creation and improvement of the activities of the CST advisory bodies - the Councils of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils - was underway. An efficient Secretariat of the SSC was created, a consultation process was established both at the level of the SSC, the Council of Foreign Ministers and the Council of Defense, and with the participation of deputy ministers of foreign affairs and defense, experts from the participating states, and their authorized representatives to the Secretary General of the SSC.
Finally, in the fall of 2002, an epoch-making event occurred in the life of the Collective Security Treaty - a new international organization was created on the basis of the treaty. On October 7, 2002, the presidents of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty signed two important documents on May 15, 1992 - the “Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization” and the “Agreement on the Legal Status of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.” Almost a year later, on September 18, 2003, these documents came into force. According to them, the CSTO participants are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan. On December 2, 2004, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution granting the Collective Security Treaty Organization observer status in the UN General Assembly.
The official goal of the CSTO was to jointly prevent, and, if necessary, eliminate a military threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the participating states. To counter new challenges and threats to national, regional and international security, Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan agreed to intensify activities in this area, taking specific actions aimed at decisively combating international terrorism. Thus, in the fall of 2003, cooperation under the Treaty was transformed into a full-fledged international intergovernmental regional organization, which is called upon to play a leading role in ensuring security in Eurasian space in general, and the CIS space in particular.
In fact, the decision to transform the Collective Security Treaty into an international organization was a response to the challenges of the changing geopolitical environment. There is an urgent need to adapt the Treaty to the dynamics of regional and international security and counter new challenges and threats. The main task of the created Organization was the coordination and deepening of military-political interaction, the establishment of multilateral structures and cooperation mechanisms designed to ensure, on a collective basis, the national security of the participating states, and to provide the necessary assistance, including military assistance, to the participating state that has become a victim of aggression.
It was fundamentally important to include in the CSTO Charter a provision that one of the main goals of the Organization and the directions of its activities is the coordination and unification of efforts in the fight against international terrorism and other non-traditional security threats. At the same time, the obligation of member states to coordinate and coordinate their foreign policy positions on international and regional security issues was recorded.
The creation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was also an important political event in the life of the states parties to the Treaty. There is no doubt that membership in the new regional organization really helps to strengthen their political weight and positions in the international community and ensure stability and security at the international and regional levels.
In terms of wording, the fundamental documents of the CSTO are quite strong. In accordance with the Treaty, the participating states ensure their security on a collective basis. Article 2 of the Treaty states: “In the event of a threat to the security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of one or more participating states, or a threat to international peace and security, the participating states will immediately activate a mechanism of joint consultations in order to coordinate their positions and adopt measures to eliminate the emerging threat."
At the same time, Article 4 provides: “In the event
committing an act of aggression against any of the participating states, all other participating states will provide him with the necessary assistance, including military assistance, and will also provide support with the means at their disposal in order to exercise the right to collective defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.” At the same time, the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization provides for the mandatory implementation of decisions made and sanctions for their failure to comply.
Thus, the main document of the Collective Security Treaty Organization expresses the purely defensive orientation of the military policy of the participating states, with priority given to political means of preventing and eliminating military conflicts. In its content, the Treaty is primarily a factor of military-political deterrence.
The states parties to the Treaty especially emphasize that they do not consider anyone as an enemy and advocate mutually beneficial cooperation with all states. The Treaty remains open to accession by other states that share its goals and principles. Individual states or international organizations are granted observer status in the CSTO by the Charter.
The very essence of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the principles and forms of cooperation laid down in its Charter, as well as the declared positions of the member states predetermined real opportunity for it to become an integral part of a common and comprehensive security system for Europe and Asia. “In the event of the creation of a collective security system in Europe and Asia,” stated in Article 1 of the Treaty, “and the conclusion of collective security agreements for this purpose, to which the contracting parties will steadily strive, the participating states will enter into immediate consultations with each other with a view to making the necessary changes to this Agreement." This fundamental point is constantly confirmed in subsequent documents of the CST.
The transformation of an interstate treaty into a full-fledged international organization could not but affect the internal structure of the latter. Back on April 28, 2003, at the session of the CSC in Dushanbe, regulations were developed regulating the activities of the organization and the structure of the CSTO was clearly formalized. The competence of the main bodies of the Collective Security Treaty has expanded significantly - the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Foreign Ministers and the CSSC have now become not only advisory, but also executive bodies.
At the moment, the structure of the CSTO is as follows. The highest body of the Organization is the Collective Security Council (CSC). The Council considers fundamental issues of the Organization's activities and makes decisions aimed at achieving its goals and objectives, and also ensures coordination and joint activities of member states to achieve these goals. The Council is composed of heads of member states.
In the period between sessions of the SSC, issues of coordinating the interaction of member states in the implementation of decisions taken by the bodies of the Organization are dealt with Standing Council, which consists of authorized representatives appointed by member states. The advisory and executive body of the Collective Security Treaty Organization on issues of coordinating the interaction of member states in the field of foreign policy is the Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA).
In turn, the advisory and executive body of the CSTO on issues of coordinating the interaction of member states in the field of military policy, military development and military-technical cooperation is the Council of Defense Ministers (CMD). The place of the CSTO advisory and executive body on issues of coordinating the interaction of member states in the field of ensuring their national security is given to the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils (CSSC).
The highest administrative official of the organization is the Secretary General, who manages the CSTO Secretariat. The Secretary General of the organization is appointed by decision of the SSC from among the citizens of the member states and is accountable to the Council.
Finally, in order to intensify work to strengthen the military component of the CSTO, the CSTO Joint Headquarters was formed.
During its short but eventful history, the Collective Security Treaty Organization has more than once given occasion to talk about itself. At the initial stage, the Treaty contributed to the creation of national armed forces of the participating states and provision of adequate external conditions for their independent state building.
The capabilities of the Treaty were directly used in the fall of 1996 and summer of 1998 in connection with the dangerous developments in Afghanistan in close proximity to the borders of the Central Asian states parties to the CST, in order to prevent attempts by extremists to destabilize the situation in this region.
In 1999 and 2000, as a result of promptly implemented measures by the CST member states, with the participation of Uzbekistan, the threat created by large-scale actions of armed groups of international terrorists in the south of Kyrgyzstan and other areas of Central Asia was neutralized.
The CST also played an important military-political role in the process of achieving national reconciliation in Tajikistan. Moreover, in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, within the framework of the CSTO, this country is receiving significant political, military and military-technical assistance.
In general, we can say with confidence that the Collective Security Treaty Organization is a significant international regional organization in the vastness of Eurasia. Moreover, the CSTO is a Eurasian organization not only in the spatial-geographical, but also in the political-legal sense due to the universality of its principles and practical goals, as well as through the direct participation of its member states in the relevant European and Asian security structures, in
first of all, the OSCE and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
In conclusion, it should be noted that after the collapse of the USSR, the balance of power in the world was disrupted, and a new security architecture has not yet been created. Moreover, the situation in the post-Soviet space, which was tightly controlled by Moscow twenty years ago, cannot now be called stable either. In this regard, Russia simply needs a powerful integration group consisting of allied countries, capable of adequately responding to the challenges of our time. In this regard, the CSTO really contributes to solving the problems of national security of the Russian Federation on its front lines, creating, in fact, under the auspices of Russia, a vast political and defense space and a common military-technical potential.
In a broader sense, the Treaty, especially with the creation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, can help strengthen Russia’s positions and the general allied collective positions of the CSTO member states in the world, and the formation of a significant Eurasian pole of security and stability.
The long-term goal of Russia's policy towards the CSTO, and, if possible, the entire CIS, is to create a community of states capable of becoming in the 21st century one of the world's leading centers of sustainable political, socio-economic, scientific and technical development, a zone of peace, national and social harmony . Here, military-political factors are closely intertwined with the necessary internal reforms.
Maintaining stability along the perimeter of its own borders, creating and strengthening a belt of good neighborliness, peace and security is one of the key priorities of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation. Moreover, this factor is of particular importance with the emergence of new challenges and threats, increased use by international terrorists and drug traffickers. Russian territory to achieve their cross-border goals. In these conditions, it seems that the CSTO can become the structure that will best suit national interests Russia in a rapidly changing international situation.