There are no alternatives: history and prospects of the CSTO. What is the CSTO and why does Russia need it? CSTO decoding of who is included for the year
Organization of the Treaty on collective security(CSTO) is a military-political union created by the former Soviet republics based on the Collective Security Treaty (CST), signed on May 15, 1992. The contract is renewed automatically every five years.
CSTO members
On May 15, 1992, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan signed a collective security treaty (CST) in Tashkent. Azerbaijan signed the agreement on September 24, 1993, Georgia - on September 9, 1993, Belarus - on December 31, 1993.
The agreement entered into force on April 20, 1994. The contract was for 5 years and could be extended. On April 2, 1999, the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed a protocol to extend the treaty for the next five-year period, but Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to extend the treaty, and in the same year Uzbekistan joined GUUAM.
At the Moscow session of the CST on May 14, 2002, a decision was made to transform the CST into a full-fledged international organization - the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On October 7, 2002, the Charter and Agreement on legal status CSTO, which were ratified by all CSTO member states and entered into force on September 18, 2003.
On August 16, 2006, a decision was signed in Sochi on the full accession (restoration of membership) of Uzbekistan to the CSTO.
Russia in lately pins great hopes on this organization, hoping with its help to strengthen its strategic position in Central Asia. Russia considers this region a zone of its own strategic interests.
At the same time, the US Manas air base is located here on the territory of Kyrgyzstan, and Kyrgyzstan does not intend to do anything to close it. Tajikistan at the beginning of 2006 agreed to a significant build-up of the French military group located on its territory, operating as part of coalition forces in Afghanistan.
To strengthen the position of the CSTO, Russia proposes to reform the collective forces for rapid deployment of the Central Asian region. These forces consist of ten battalions: three each from Russia and Tajikistan, two each from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The total number of personnel of the collective forces is about 4 thousand people. The aviation component (10 aircraft and 14 helicopters) is located at the Russian Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan.
A proposal to expand the scope of activities of collective forces is being considered - in particular, it is planned to use them in Afghanistan.
In connection with Uzbekistan’s accession to the CSTO, it is noted that back in 2005, the Uzbek authorities came up with a project to create international “anti-revolutionary” punitive forces in the post-Soviet space within the CSTO. In preparation for joining this organization, Uzbekistan has prepared a package of proposals for its improvement, including the creation within its framework of intelligence and counterintelligence structures, as well as the development of mechanisms that would allow the CSTO to provide internal security guarantees to the Central Asian states.
The organization is headed by its Secretary General. Since 2003, this has been Nikolai Bordyuzha. As is usual now, he comes from the “authorities”, a colonel general of the border troops. For the last couple of years before the collapse of the USSR, he worked as head of the KGB personnel department. After 1991, he commanded the border troops, and for a short time was the head of the presidential administration under Boris Yeltsin, and secretary of the Security Council. In short, an experienced comrade.
All members of the G7, with the possible exception of Kazakhstan, are in strong political, economic and military dependence on Moscow and need its diplomatic cover.
- CSTO objectives are directly interconnected with integration processes in the post-Soviet space, and this relationship is growing stronger. The advancement of military-political integration in the CSTO format contributes to the deployment of integration processes, actually forms the “integration core” in the CIS, and contributes to the optimal “division of labor” in the Commonwealth. Regarding the place and role of the CSTO in Eurasian Union, if one is formed, they can be very significant, since the Organization’s area of responsibility covers vast spaces of Eurasia, and the Organization’s activities are aimed at creating a system of collective security in Europe and Asia, - said Nikolai Bordyuzha, commenting on the goals creation of the CSTO for the press.
On September 5, at a summit in Moscow, the leaders of the member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization adopted a declaration in which they condemned Georgia for aggression, supported Russia’s actions and advocated “for ensuring lasting security for South Ossetia and Abkhazia.” The CSTO countries warned NATO against expanding to the East and announced plans to strengthen the military component of the organization.
Like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the CSTO spoke in favor of Russia's active role in promoting peace and cooperation in the region. However, the main thing - joint recognition of the two Transcaucasian republics by members of the Organization - did not happen.
The Russian President once again stated the need to strengthen the military component of the CSTO. Actually, there is nothing unusual in this, because the CSTO is military organization, created to protect participating countries from external attacks. There are also mutual obligations in case of an attack on one of the organization's members. As Medvedev himself admitted, this was the main topic during his negotiations with his colleagues.
The main part of the document was devoted to the current situation in the world and the role of the CSTO itself in it. In the very first lines of the declaration, the leaders CSTO countries notify the world community that from now on they are “determined to adhere to close coordination of foreign policy interaction, a line on progressive development military and military-technical cooperation, improvement of practice collaboration on all issues." At the same time, declaring their firm intention to ensure security in the area of their responsibility, the G7 warned against encroachments on this area, frankly making it clear how it would cooperate: “Serious conflict potential is accumulating in the immediate vicinity of the CSTO area of responsibility. CSTO members call on NATO countries to weigh all the possible consequences of the alliance’s expansion to the East and the deployment of new missile defense facilities near the borders of member states.”
What is the CSTO (decoding)? Who is part of the organization that is often opposed to NATO today? You, dear readers, will find answers to all these questions in this article.
A brief history of the creation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO transcript)
In 2002, a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was held in Moscow on the basis of a similar agreement signed in Tashkent ten years earlier (1992), and in October 2002 the CSTO Charter was adopted. We discussed and accepted the main provisions of the association - the Charter and the Agreement, which determined the international These documents became valid the following year.
CSTO tasks, decoding. Who is included in this organization?
In December 2004, the CSTO officially received observer status, which once again confirmed the respect of the international community for this organization.
The CSTO transcript was given above. What are the main tasks of this organization? This:
military-political cooperation;
resolving important international and regional issues;
creation of mechanisms for multilateral cooperation, including in the military component;
ensuring national and collective security;
countering international terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal migration, transnational crime;
ensuring information security.
The main point of the Collective Security Treaty (CSTO transcript) is to continue and strengthen relations in foreign policy, military, military-technical spheres, coordinate joint efforts in the fight against international terrorism and other security threats. Its position on the world stage is a large eastern influential military association.
Let's summarize the interpretation of the CSTO (decoding, composition):
The abbreviation stands for Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Today it includes six permanent members - Russia, Tajikistan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Kazakhstan, as well as two observer states at the parliamentary assembly - Serbia and Afghanistan.
CSTO at present
The organization can provide comprehensive protection to member states, as well as quickly respond to a large volume of pressing problems and threats both within the bloc and outside its competence.
A tough confrontation between East and West, the USA and the Russian Federation, sanctions and the situation in Ukraine are on the agenda interesting question about whether the CSTO is capable of becoming an eastern alternative to NATO, or is it nothing more than a cordon sanitaire , intended to create a buffer zone around Russia that serves as an instrument to ensure Russian hegemony in the region?
Key problems of the organization
Currently CSTO time suffers from the same two problems as NATO. First, it is one dominant force bearing the entire financial and military burden, while many members contribute virtually nothing to the alliance. Second, the organization struggles to find a legitimate justification for its existence. Unlike NATO, the CSTO has another fundamental problem - the organization's members are never truly secure and they have different, often quite contradictory, visions of what the CSTO should look like.
While Russia is content to build up its military infrastructure and use the territories of CSTO member states to station troops, other countries often see the organization as a tool to support them authoritarian regimes or easing ethnic tensions still remaining after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This stark contrast in how participants view the organization creates an atmosphere of mistrust.
CSTO and Russian Federation
Russia is the successor state of the former superpower, its leadership experience alone guaranteed its significance on the world stage, which puts it several heads above all participating powers and makes strong leader in the organization.
By negotiating a number of strategic military deals with CSTO allies, such as the construction of new air bases in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia in 2016, Russia has been able to strengthen its presence in these countries and their respective regions, as well as reduce NATO influence there. Despite economic difficulties, Russia is further increasing military spending and plans to complete an ambitious military modernization program by 2020, demonstrating its desire to play an ever more important role on a global scale.
In the short term, Russia will achieve its goals and consolidate its influence using the resources of the CSTO. Decoding the leading country is not difficult: it wants to counteract NATO’s aspirations in Central Asia and the Caucasus. By creating the conditions for deeper integration, Russia opened the way for the creation of effective collective security with a structure similar to its Western neighbor.
We hope that now the decoding of the CSTO as a powerful regional organization has become clear to you.
TASS DOSSIER. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an international security organization whose members are currently six states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992 in Tashkent by the heads of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 1993, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus joined them. The agreement came into force on April 20, 1994 for a period of five years. On April 2, 1999, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to sign the protocol on extending its validity. Uzbekistan resumed membership in August 2006 and withdrew from the treaty in December 2012.
On May 14, 2002, at a summit in Moscow, the heads of state of the Collective Security Treaty Organization decided to form the Collective Security Treaty Organization. On October 7 of the same year, the heads of state signed the Charter and Agreement on the legal status of the CSTO. Since 2004, the organization has observer status at the UN General Assembly.
The highest coordinating body of the CSTO is the secretariat headed by general secretary(since April 2003 - Nikolai Bordyuzha). Supreme political body is the Collective Security Council (CSC), which includes the presidents of the states parties to the Treaty. In the period between sessions of the CSC, it is headed by the president of the country presiding over the CSTO this year. In 2014, the chairmanship of the CSTO statutory bodies was carried out by Russia, in 2015 - by Tajikistan. On September 15, 2015, at the end of the CSTO summit in Dushanbe, the chairmanship for 2016 passed to Armenia.
The goal of the CSTO is to repel threats to security and stability, to protect territorial integrity and the sovereignty of member states, without interference in their internal affairs. The CSTO collective security system includes the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF; 19.5 thousand people), peacekeeping forces (4 thousand people), as well as regional groupings of collective security forces and means: Collective Rapid Deployment Forces in Central Asia (CRDF CAR ; 4.5 thousand people), Eastern European (Russia and Belarus) and Caucasian (Russia and Armenia) groups. Currently, collective aviation forces of the CSTO and forces are being created special purpose. All these structures are included in the CSTO united forces - the Collective Forces, the decision to create which was made on December 19, 2012 by the heads of state of the organization at the next session of the CSC.
According to the statement of the heads of the organization's participants dated May 24, 2000, military-political relations between the CST states take priority over military ties and contacts with countries that have not signed the treaty.
On December 20, 2011, a protocol was signed according to which military bases of countries not members of the organization can be located on the territories of the CSTO states only with the consent of all partners in the bloc. Aggression against one of the states of the organization is considered as aggression against all states parties to the Treaty.
As part of military cooperation, the CSTO states conduct annual large-scale exercises. Thus, since 2004, joint command and staff exercises “Rubezh” have been held. In June 2010, the first exercises of the special forces of the organization "Cobalt-2010" took place, in October - the first joint complex exercises of the CSTO "Interaction-2010", in which the command and military forces of the CRRF were involved. In October 2012, the first peacekeeping exercises of the organization “Indestructible Brotherhood 2012” took place at three training grounds in Kazakhstan.
The organization has significant experience in combating drug trafficking and illegal migration. Since 2003, the CSTO has regularly carried out the anti-drug operation “Channel”; since 2006 - Operation Illegal to combat illegal migration, including human trafficking; since 2009 - operation "PROXY" to combat crime in the field information technology. The organization is working to create a unified mechanism for responding to natural and man-made emergencies.
Since 2000, a mechanism for military-technical cooperation has been in place, which provides for the supply of military products to the allied armed forces on the basis of preferential prices. On December 10, 2010, an agreement was signed on the creation of interstate research and production associations in the CSTO for the production of military products. Joint training is being carried out on a free and preferential basis for personnel for the armed forces and security forces of the member states.
Under the CSTO they operate Interstate Commission on military-economic cooperation, coordinating councils of heads of competent authorities on combating drug trafficking and combating illegal migration, as well as a coordinating council on emergency situations. A decision was made to create a Cyber Threat Countermeasures Center.
MEDIA RELEASE
The anniversary of the Victory became the main political background in the work of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) last year. The presidents of the allied states took part in the parade and held an informal meeting on the sidelines of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War May 9 in Moscow, thereby emphasizing that Victory over fascism is a common conquest of peoples former USSR. At a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA) of the CSTO on April 2 this year. a joint statement “On the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War” was adopted, which became the basis for general actions on international platforms, incl. at the UN and OSCE. Historical, cultural and military-patriotic events dedicated to the Victory Anniversary were held in all member states - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia.
Work continued to strengthen the military potential of the CSTO in the face of growing instability and the deterioration of the military-political situation in the world. The main efforts were focused on the formation of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces), the traditional military exercises “Interaction - 2015” were held, as well as the exercises of the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces on the territory of the Republic of Armenia “Indestructible Brotherhood - 2015”. A qualitatively new moment was a sudden check of the readiness of military contingents of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CSTO CRRF) in May of this year, during which military contingents of all member states were transferred to the Republic of Tajikistan to carry out combat training missions near the Tajik-Afghan border .
Military-economic and military-technical cooperation between member states was strengthened, incl. The Program of Military-Economic Cooperation until 2017 and the future was agreed upon.
In connection with the worsening terrorist threat, the fight against international terrorism and extremism has come to the fore in CSTO activities. At the meeting of the CSTO Special Design Bureau in Moscow on December 21 this year. The presidents adopted a joint Statement on Countering International Terrorism, in which they spoke in favor of creating a broad international coalition to combat ISIS and other terrorist organizations.
Substantive work to curb the threats of terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, and illegal migration was undertaken through the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils. In particular, measures were considered to counter the recruitment and departure of citizens of CSTO member states to participate in armed conflicts on the side of international terrorist organizations, as well as their subsequent return to prevent terrorist activities.
In 2015, the anti-drug operation “Channel”, the operation to combat illegal migration “Illegal-2015”, as well as the operation to counter crimes in the information sphere “PROXY” were carried out. Work continued aimed at the formation and development of a system of joint training of personnel for law enforcement, fire and emergency rescue agencies of the CSTO member states.
In order to improve coordination of work Russian ministries and departments by Order of the President of Russia in August of this year. Interdepartmental working group to ensure participation Russian Federation in the CSTO.
At the session of the CSTO Special Security Council in December this year. in Moscow, the heads of state separately considered the issue of reforming the Secretariat and the Joint Headquarters of the CSTO. A decision was made to rotate officials of the permanent working bodies of the CSTO. During 2016, additional reform proposals will be prepared, primarily affecting the activities of the military component of the CSTO. N.N. Bordyuzha was extended in office Secretary General Organizations until December 31, 2016.
Foreign policy coordination of the CSTO member states has also seen a significant increase this year. Three meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers and two working meetings at the ministerial level were held on the sidelines of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly and the OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade. Coordination meetings of permanent representatives to international organizations, ambassadors of member states in third countries, and consultations of delegations at international forums have become regular. In 2015, eight joint statements were made, as well as several joint speeches at various international venues.
Publishes full version 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 formal decision its dissolution was not adopted, and the GUAM Secretariat, located in Kyiv, regularly issues press releases in Russian about its work).
In 2002, a decision was made to transform the CST into a full-fledged international organization.
On October 7, 2002, the Charter and Agreement on the legal status of the CSTO were adopted in Chisinau. 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 CSTO Secretary General since 2003 is Nikolay Bordyuzha.
Elected Chairman of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly on November 24, 2016 Vyacheslav Volodin.
CSTO: Birth injuries 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.
While 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. 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 being provided with 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, ensuring adequate external conditions for their independent state building. This is evidenced by the relevance of the Treaty in a number of cases where its provisions are applied.
The capabilities of the Treaty were used in the fall of 1996, in the summer of 1998 in connection with dangerous development events 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 in other areas of Central Asia was neutralized."
The 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 DKB had no chance of becoming a full-fledged and effective international organization due to large quantity claims of its participants to 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 harsher 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 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, organs were improved political management and interstate consultations. The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils were created. The CSC Secretariat 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 to the Secretary General of the 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, it was adopted 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 presence of Russian troops in Transnistria. The communist who headed this republic in 2002 Vladimir Voronin 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 experienced a period of relative growth after sharp deterioration in 1999, when the US 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 Shanghai organization cooperation (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 strengthening confidence 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 States Parties of the Commonwealth 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 the laws of the CSTO member states closer together and bringing them into line 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 the accession of Belarus to the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces only on October 20, 2009.
In June 2010, the President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otumbaeva appealed to the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev with a request to introduce the CRRF into the territory of this country in connection with the 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 was delivered to the Russian Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan. airborne brigade to ensure safety. 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 means, special equipment, vehicles, including helicopters.
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 year of 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 alternatives to the CSTO in the current situation no. 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 - holding a motorcycle rally in the CSTO member states, with the exception of Armenia, since there 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, and laid wreaths at the graves of military personnel who died in the Great Patriotic War. According to their estimates, in all states, including small ones populated areas 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 interparliamentary cooperation within the framework of the CSTO PA with member countries of the organization, observers and all organizations interested in cooperation becomes an 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 convocation Sergey 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's obvious that priority direction The work of the Assembly for the next four years will be the implementation of a 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 combating corruption, drug trafficking, countering technological terrorism, training personnel in the field of “Security in emergency situations“, 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 interacting with the CSTO - after the election of a socialist as president Igor Dodon, 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 exclude duplication of functions and unnecessary competition between employees of the apparatuses 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 new chairman 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 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, raise it to the level of development of everything 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 the US President Donald Trump added unpredictability to the foreign policy of this strongest and most influential country. In such a 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 against the desire of Western countries, disguised as “democratization” and “the fight for human rights,” to impose their values and weaken as much as possible the traditional way of life in countries 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 domestic policy their partners.