The history of the creation of the CSTO. Organization of the Collective Security Treaty

The formation of a collective security system in the post-Soviet space began almost immediately after the collapse of the USSR. So, on February 14, 1992, a decision was made to create the Council of Defense Ministers (CMO) and the High Command of the Joint Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS Joint Armed Forces), and on March 20 of the same year, the Joint Forces Agreement 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 single armed force for all CIS members. However, in parallel with this, diametrically opposite trends developed and intensified - many former republics of the USSR began to form their own armies. This actually led to the division and nationalization of the new independent states armed forces, equipment and property Soviet army stationed in their territories.

Thus, already in the spring of 1992, it became clear that it was impossible to keep the CIS centralized 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 conflicts that broke out between the former republics of the USSR. At the same time, the leadership of the majority of the republics had a growing understanding of the need for qualitatively new forms and mechanisms of integration in the military-political sphere, which would make it possible to create a more effective security system with significantly lower economic, scientific and technical costs, and reduce the escalation of armed conflicts in the post-Soviet space. It was with these factors in mind that on May 15, 1992, in Tashkent, the representatives of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan concluded the 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 entry into force of the Treaty, a number of important legal documents were adopted that promoted the process of military

political integration in the various fields within its competence. Among them, it is worth noting the “Declaration of the States Parties to the Collective Security Treaty” and the “Concept of Collective Security of the States Parties to the Collective Security Treaty” adopted in 1995. In the same year, the “Plan for the Implementation of the Collective Security Concept” and the “Main Directions for Deepening Military Cooperation” were adopted, which set the task of organizing regional systems of collective security. Approved in 1999, the "Plan for the second stage of the formation of a collective security system" 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 term of the Treaty for successive five-year periods.

Qualitatively new stage in the development of the Treaty was opened adopted by the Council collective security in 2000 with the "Memorandum on Improving the Effectiveness of the Collective Security Treaty and Its Adaptation to the Current Geopolitical Situation", the implementation of which aimed the Treaty at repelling 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 the regional system of collective security”, “Basic provisions of the coalition strategy” were approved, designed to form the organizational and legal basis for the activities of the Collective Security Treaty in the field of ensuring on a collective basis of the security of its member states.

Signed in 2000-2001, the “Agreement on the status of formations of forces and means of the collective security system” and the “Protocol on the procedure for the formation and functioning of the forces and means of the collective security system of the CST member states” were of fundamental importance in this regard.

The logical stage 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 equipped with 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.

At the same time, the creation and improvement of the activities of the advisory bodies of the Collective Security Treaty - the Councils of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils - proceeded. A workable Secretariat of the CSC was created, a consultation process was established both at the level of the CSC, Ministerial Council of Foreign Ministers and CFR, and with the participation of deputy ministers of foreign affairs and defense, experts of the participating states, their authorized representatives under the Secretary General of the SKB.

Finally, in the fall of 2002, a milestone event took place 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 CST member states of May 15, 1992 signed two important documents - 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 members are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russian Federation, The Republic of Tajikistan. December 2, 2004 General Assembly The UN adopted a resolution granting the Collective Security Treaty Organization observer status in the UN General Assembly.

The official goal of the CSTO was to prevent by joint efforts, and if necessary, eliminate, military threat 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 their activities in this area, taking concrete actions aimed at a resolute fight against international terrorism. Thus, in the fall of 2003, cooperation within the framework of 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 the Eurasian space as a whole, 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 situation. There was an urgent need to adapt the Treaty to the dynamics of regional and international security, to counter new challenges and threats. The main task of the Organization being created was the coordination and deepening of military-political cooperation, the formation of multilateral structures and cooperation mechanisms designed to ensure the national security of the participating states on a collective basis, to provide the necessary assistance, including military assistance, to a 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 its activities is to coordinate and unite efforts in the fight against international terrorism and other non-traditional security threats. At the same time, the obligation of the member states to harmonize and coordinate their foreign policy positions on international and regional security problems was recorded.

The creation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization has also become an important political event in the life of the member states of the Treaty. There is no doubt that membership in a new regional organization really contributes to strengthening their political weight and positions in the international community and ensuring stability and security at the international and regional levels.

According to the 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 international peace and security, the participating States will immediately activate the mechanism of joint consultations in order to coordinate their positions and take measures to eliminate the threat that has arisen.”

At the same time, Article 4 provides: “In the event of

committing an act of aggression against any of the participating States, all other participating States will provide it with the necessary assistance, including military, and will also support 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 obligatory implementation of adopted decisions and sanctions for their non-compliance.

Thus, the main document of the Collective Security Treaty Organization expresses the purely defensive orientation of the military policy of the participating states, with the 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 emphasize that they do not consider anyone as an adversary and stand for mutually beneficial cooperation with all states. The treaty remains open for accession to it by other states that share its goals and principles. Individual states or international organizations are granted observer status with 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 him to become integral part common and comprehensive security systems for Europe and Asia. “In the event of the creation in Europe and Asia of a system of collective security,” written in Article 1 of the Treaty, “and the conclusion of collective security treaties 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 Collective Security Treaty.

The transformation of an interstate treaty into a full-fledged international organization could not but affect the internal structure of the latter. As early as April 28, 2003, at the session of the CSC in Dushanbe, provisions were developed to regulate the activities of the organization and the structure of the CSTO was clearly formulated. The competence of the main bodies of the Collective Security Treaty has significantly expanded - the Ministerial Council of Foreign Affairs, the CMO and the KSSB have now become not only advisory, but also executive bodies.

At the moment, the structure of the CSTO is as follows. The supreme body of the Organization is the Collective Security Council (CSC). The Council considers the fundamental issues of the Organization's activities and makes decisions aimed at the implementation of its goals and objectives, as well as ensures coordination and joint activities of the Member States to achieve these goals. The Council consists of the heads of member states.

In the period between sessions of the CSC, the Permanent Council, which consists of authorized representatives appointed by the Member States, is responsible for coordinating the interaction of the Member States in the implementation of decisions taken by the bodies of the Organization. The Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA) is the advisory and executive body of the Collective Security Treaty Organization on the issues of coordinating the interaction of member states in the field of foreign policy.

In turn, the Council of Defense Ministers (CMO) is the CSTO advisory and executive body for coordinating the interaction of member states in the field of military policy, military development and military technical cooperation. A place for the CSTO advisory and executive body on issues of coordination of interaction between member states in the field of ensuring their national security allocated to the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils (CSSC).

The highest administrative officer of the organization is the Secretary General, who manages the CSTO Secretariat. The Secretary General of the organization is appointed by the CSC decision 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 Joint Headquarters of the CSTO was formed.

During its short but eventful history, the Collective Security Treaty Organization has repeatedly given rise to talk about itself. At the initial stage, the Treaty contributed to the creation of the national armed forces of the participating States, to the provision of adequate external conditions for their independent state building.

The possibilities of the Treaty were directly activated in the fall of 1996 and in the summer of 1998 in connection with the dangerous development of events in Afghanistan in close proximity to the borders of the Central Asian member states of the Collective Security Treaty, 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 member states of the Collective Security Treaty, with the participation of Uzbekistan, the threat posed by large-scale actions of armed groups of international terrorists in southern Kyrgyzstan and other regions 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, it can be confidently asserted that the Collective Security Treaty Organization is a significant international regional organization in the expanses of Eurasia. Moreover, the CSTO is a Eurasian organization not only in the spatial and geographical sense, but also in the political and 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 Shanghai Organization cooperation".

In conclusion, it should be noted that after the collapse of the USSR, the balance of power in the world was upset, 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 grouping, 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 the national security of the Russian Federation on its advanced frontiers, creating, in fact, under the auspices of Russia, a vast political and defense space and a common military-technical potential.

TASS-DOSIER. 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 entered 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 to extend its validity. Uzbekistan resumed membership in August 2006, and in December 2012 withdrew from the agreement.

On May 14, 2002, at a summit in Moscow, the CST heads of state adopted a decision to form the Collective Security Treaty Organization. On October 7 of the same year, the heads of state signed the Charter and the Agreement on the legal status of the CSTO. Since 2004 the organization has an observer status at the UN General Assembly.

The supreme coordinating body of the CSTO is the secretariat headed by the Secretary General (since April 2003 - Nikolai Bordyuzha). The highest political body is the Collective Security Council (CSC), which includes the presidents of the States parties to the Treaty. Between sessions of the CSC, it is headed by the president of the country chairing the CSTO this year. In 2014, the chairmanship in the statutory bodies of the CSTO 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, protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of member states, without interfering in their internal affairs. Into the collective system CSTO security includes the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF; 19.5 thousand people), peacekeeping forces (4 thousand people), as well as regional groupings of forces and means of collective security: Collective Rapid Deployment Force in Central Asia (CRRF CAR; 4.5 thousand . people), Eastern European (Russia and Belarus) and Caucasian (Russia and Armenia) groups. Collective aviation forces of the CSTO and special forces are currently being created. All these structures are included in the composition of the unified troops of the CSTO - the Collective Forces, the decision to create which was made on December 19, 2012 by the heads of state of the organization at the regular session of the CSC.

According to the statement of the heads - participants of the organization on May 24, 2000, military-political relations between the states of the Collective Security Treaty are of a priority nature in comparison with military relations 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 that are 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 regarded as aggression against all states parties to the Treaty.

As part of military cooperation, the CSTO states conduct annual large-scale exercises. So, since 2004, joint command and staff exercises "Frontier" have been held. In June 2010, the first exercises of the special forces of the organization "Cobalt-2010" were held, 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 Indestructible Brotherhood-2012 organization 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 been conducting the Canal anti-drug operation on a regular basis; since 2006 - operation "Illegal" to combat illegal migration, including human trafficking; since 2009 - operation "PROXY" to combat crime in the field information technologies. The organization is working to create a unified mechanism for responding to emergencies natural and man-made character.

Since 2000, a mechanism for military-technical cooperation has been in place, which provides for the supply of military products for the allied armed forces on the basis of preferential prices. On December 10, 2010, an agreement was signed on the creation in the CSTO of interstate scientific and production associations for the production of military products. Joint training is being carried out on a gratuitous and preferential basis for personnel for the armed forces and law enforcement agencies of the Member States.

The CSTO has an Interstate Commission on Military-Economic Cooperation, coordinating councils of heads of competent authorities to counter drug trafficking and illegal migration, as well as a coordinating council for emergency situations. A decision was made to establish a Cyber ​​Threat Countermeasures Center.

To strengthen the positions of the CSTO, the collective rapid deployment forces of the Central Asian region are being reformed. These forces consist of ten battalions: three from Russia, two from Kazakhstan, the rest CSTO countries represented by one battalion. Total population personnel collective forces - about 4 thousand people. The aviation component (10 planes and 14 helicopters) is located at the Russian military air base in Kyrgyzstan.

At the same time, it should be noted that many politicians evaluate prospects for the CSTO very ambiguous, for example, Alexander Lukashenko called the further activities of the CSTO unpromising, since the organization does not respond to a “coup d'état in one of the member countries” (meaning the events in Kyrgyzstan). Nevertheless, Belarus considers the activities of the CSTO promising, but not in military terms:

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is not considered by us as a military bloc. It is an international regional organization that deals with a wide range of security issues. In the field of view of the CSTO, in addition to military threats, there are issues of countering international terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal migration, transnational organized crime, collective response to emergencies, humanitarian disasters [which, thank God, have not yet happened], a wide range of threats in the information sphere and the fight against cybercrime. This is not a declarative task that is written down in some statutory documents, these are real specific algorithms for collective response to potential challenges and threats.

We had misunderstandings with the Russian leadership. But we are brothers and friends! And everything related to the CSTO is a joke aside. Here we have never had any misunderstandings, - President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on October 26 at a meeting with participants in a meeting of the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly.

Goals and objectives[edit | edit wiki text]

The task of the CSTO is to protect the territorial and economic space of the countries participating in the treaty by the joint efforts of the armies and auxiliary units from any external military-political aggressors, international terrorists, as well as from large-scale natural disasters.

The activities of the CSTO in the field of combating the drug threat[edit | edit wiki text]

One of the important activities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization is to counter modern challenges and threats. Very serious attention in this work is paid to the fight against drug trafficking. Charter of the CSTO

Practically all member states of the Organization, due to their geographical location, are at the forefront of the fight against cross-border drug crime, since the so-called “Northern Route” of Afghan drug trafficking passes through their territories. “In addition to these traditional drug threats, law enforcement agencies have recently registered the desire of drug traffickers to promote synthetic drugs produced in Europe to the markets of Russia and Central Asia. This is confirmed by seizures of fairly large batches of these drugs in some cities of this region.”

“Given the seriousness of the problem, the issues of increasing the efficiency and improving anti-drug activities are under the constant control of the heads of the CSTO member states. Particular emphasis is placed on the development and use of collective measures of an organizational, legal and practical nature. On June 23, 2003, by decision of the CSC, the Coordinating Council of the Heads of the Competent Authorities for Combating Drug Trafficking of the CSTO Member States and the Regulations on it were created.

“Every year, under the auspices of the CSTO, a comprehensive operational preventive operation is carried out under the conditional name “Channel”. The operation involves employees of drug control, state security, customs, police and border guards of the member states of the Organization.

The purpose of the operation is to identify and block drug smuggling routes from Afghanistan, block international and interregional channels of synthetic drugs from European countries, suppress the activities of clandestine laboratories, prevent the leakage of precursors into illegal circulation, and undermine the economic foundations of the drug business.

On September 5, 2008 in Moscow, in order to further develop the Canal project, at the session of the Collective Security Council, by the decision of the Presidents of the CSTO member states, the operational and preventive operation Canal was given the status of the CSTO Regional Anti-Terrorist Operation of Permanent Action. This decision will make it possible to respond more quickly and flexibly to any changes in the operational situation related to the spread of drugs, to solve practical problems at several levels. Namely, at the first level, it will be two-three-four-sided operations of a regional and sub-regional nature, carried out in separate drug-hazardous areas within the framework of a single plan.

“In the interests of combating the drug business, working contacts have been established between the CSTO Secretariat and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and a regular exchange of information with this international structure has been organized. In addition, relations with the Regional Communications Center for Law Enforcement Work of the World Customs Organization for the CIS countries RILO-Moscow, as well as with the Operational Committee of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, are maintained and are developing. Mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of combating drug trafficking with the OSCE is being activated, a dialogue is being conducted in the format of the Paris-2-Moscow-1 process. In 2012, drug smuggling from Afghanistan was discussed in Astana. The countries that are members of the CSTO intend to make every effort to combat drug trafficking.

Russia today plays a special role in the context of the CSTO strategy and activities, and the intensification of cooperation between the participating countries and the increase in the effectiveness of the Organization's activities today is one of the important foreign policy priorities for Russia. Thus, according to the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2020, the CSTO is the main interstate instrument designed to counter regional challenges and threats of a military-political and military-strategic nature. The military doctrine of the Russian Federation formulates a number of main tasks to contain and prevent conflicts, which include, among other things, tasks to strengthen the collective security system within the CSTO and build up its potential. In 2014, during its chairmanship in the CSTO, Russia made serious efforts to enhance the role and potential of the Organization, as well as to develop military and military-political cooperation with partners.

Today, the CSTO member countries will continue to contribute to the consolidation of efforts in the fight against international terrorism and consider peacekeeping activities a promising direction in the development of the organization, which is fully consistent with the main priorities of Russian foreign policy. The final statement of the heads of the CSTO member states following the summit in Dushanbe on September 15, 2015 states that “the CSTO member states consider the development of the peacekeeping potential of the organization as promising direction its activities and support the connection to international peacekeeping activities under the auspices of the UN”. The joint statement also notes that the CSTO member states will continue to help consolidate the efforts of the world community in the fight against international terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking and illegal migration, and ensure international information security.

History of creation, basics of activity, organizational structure

The organization of the Collective Security Treaty originates from the conclusion of the Collective Security Treaty, which was signed in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) on May 15, 1992 by the heads of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Later, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia joined it (1993). The treaty entered into force upon completion of the national ratification processes on April 20, 1994. The key article of the Treaty is the fourth, which states that:

“If one of the participating states is subjected to aggression by any state or group of states, then this will be considered as aggression against all states parties to this Treaty.

In the event of an act of aggression against any of the participating States, all other participating States will provide it with the necessary assistance, including military assistance, as well as 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.

In addition, Article 2 of the Treaty establishes a regional consultation mechanism 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, and also provides for the conclusion of additional agreements governing certain issues of cooperation in the field of collective security between the participating states.

The Collective Security Treaty was concluded for five years with the possibility of subsequent extension. In 1999, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia and Tajikistan signed the Protocol on the extension of the Collective Security Treaty (link), on the basis of which new composition countries-participants and established an automatic procedure for extending the validity of the Treaty for five-year periods.

Further development of cooperation in the format of the Treaty required qualitative institutional changes, which led to the signing on October 7, 2002 in Chisinau (Moldova) of the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which from the point of view of international law is a regional international security organization.

In accordance with Article 3 of the CSTO Charter, the goals of the Organization are to strengthen peace, international and regional security and stability, to protect on a collective basis the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the member states.

Based on Article 5 of the CSTO Charter, the Organization in its activities is guided by the following principles: priority of political means over military ones, strict respect for independence, voluntary participation, equality of rights and obligations of member states, non-interference in matters falling under the national jurisdiction of member states.

Since 2004 the organization has an observer status at the UN General Assembly.

Structure of the CSTO

The supreme coordinating body of the CSTO is the secretariat headed by the Secretary General (since April 2003 - Nikolai Bordyuzha). The highest political body is the Collective Security Council (CSC), which includes the presidents of the States parties to the Treaty. Between sessions of the CSC, it is headed by the president of the country chairing the CSTO this year. In 2014, the chairmanship in the statutory bodies of the CSTO is carried out by Russia, in 2015 - by Tajikistan.

Collective Security Council (CSC) - supreme body Organizations. The Council considers the fundamental issues of the Organization's activities and makes decisions aimed at the implementation of its goals and objectives, as well as ensures coordination and joint activities of the Member States to achieve these goals.

The Council consists of the heads of member states.

In the period between CSC sessions, the Permanent Council, which consists of authorized representatives appointed by the Member States, is responsible for coordinating the interaction of the Member States in the implementation of decisions taken by the bodies of the Organization.

Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA) - advisory and executive agency Organizations for the coordination of interaction between member states in the field of foreign policy.

The Council of Defense Ministers (CMO) is the Organization's advisory and executive body for coordinating the interaction of member states in the field of military policy, military development and military-technical cooperation.

The Military Committee was established on December 19, 2012 under the Council of Ministers of Defense of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in order to promptly consider the planning and use of forces and means of the collective security system of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and prepare the necessary proposals for the CFR.

The Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils (CSSC) is an advisory and executive body of the Organization for coordinating the interaction of member states in the field of ensuring their national security.

The Secretary General of the Organization is the highest administrative officer of the Organization and manages the Secretariat of the Organization. Appointed by the decision of the CSC from among the citizens of the Member States and is accountable to the CSC.

The Secretariat of the Organization is a permanent working body of the Organization for the implementation of organizational, informational, analytical and advisory support for the activities of the Organization's bodies.

The CSC has the right to create, on a permanent or temporary basis, working and auxiliary bodies of the Organization.

The CSTO Joint Headquarters is a permanent working body of the Organization and the CMO of the CSTO, responsible for preparing proposals and implementing decisions on the military component of the CSTO.

Political cooperation

In accordance with Article 9 of the CSTO Charter, a mechanism of regular political consultations functions in the format of the Organization, during which assessments of the situation in the CSTO area of ​​responsibility are discussed, common positions are developed and joint approaches are sought to current problems on the international agenda, and collective statements are agreed upon. Meetings are held at the level of ministers of foreign affairs, their deputies, members Permanent Council under the CSTO, as well as experts. Particular attention is paid to the coordination of the collective steps of the member states in international organizations, for which periodic meetings of plenipotentiary representatives of the CSTO member states to the UN, OSCE, NATO, EU and others are convened. international structures which makes it possible to defend common interests in these international structures more effectively, on a collective basis. The practice includes informal meetings of foreign ministers on the eve of meetings of the OSCE Ministerial Council and sessions of the UN General Assembly. A positive experience has developed following the results of the use of collective instructions to the authorized representatives of the Member States in international organizations.

Cooperation with other international organizations is being developed at the working level. Memorandums (protocols) on cooperation were signed with the UN, SCO, CIS, EAEU, the Union State, the Colombo Plan, the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, the Anti-Terrorism Center and the Coordination Service of the Council of Commanders of the CIS Border Troops.

Representatives of the Secretariat regularly take part in the work of the relevant divisions of the UN and the OSCE. The CSTO Secretary General regularly presents the Organization's approaches to certain topical issues on the international agenda during events held under the auspices of the UN, the OSCE, and other associations. In turn, the speeches of their General Secretaries, Ban Ki-moon, Lamberto Zannier at the meetings of the Permanent Council under the CSTO became evidence of the serious focus of these organizations on developing cooperation with the CSTO.

On December 2, 2004, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution granting the Collective Security Treaty Organization observer status in the UN General Assembly. On March 18, 2010, in Moscow, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and CSTO Secretary General N.N. Bordyuzha signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the UN and CSTO Secretariats.

A mechanism has been established for exchanging views on a wide range of issues of mutual interest between the highest administrative officials of the EAEU, the CSTO, the CIS and the SCO, which allows, on a practical level, to optimize the distribution of functions between regional organizations whose sphere of responsibility includes ensuring security in the states of Eurasia.

In 2010, measures were taken to improve the Organization's crisis response system. It is complemented by a political mechanism for monitoring and preventing possible conflicts. An algorithm for the functioning of the CSTO bodies and member states for the prompt provision of logistical and humanitarian aid, providing information and political support in the event of a crisis in the Collective Security Treaty area. Obligations for mutual, including military, support are also extended to cases of armed attacks by illegal armed formations and bandit groups. The possibility of making decisions in a limited format by interested member states is introduced. A legal basis has been created for emergency consultations and decision-making, including through videoconferencing.

military building

Despite the importance and priority of collective political actions for solving the tasks facing the Organization, the specificity of the CSTO is the presence of a capable force potential, ready to respond to a wide range of traditional and modern challenges and threats in the Eurasian region.

At the moment, the military (power) component of the Organization includes the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces and the Peacekeeping Forces, formed on a broad coalition basis, as well as regional groupings of forces and means of collective security: the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region, the Regional Russian-Belarusian Group of Troops (Forces) Eastern European region, United Russian-Armenian grouping of troops (forces) of the Caucasus region. The Joint Air Defense System of Russia and Belarus is in operation, a Russian-Armenian regional air defense system is being created.

The CSTO CRRF (more than 20 thousand personnel) are a component of constant readiness and include highly mobile contingents of the armed forces of the member states, as well as the formation of special forces, which unite units of security agencies and special services, internal affairs bodies and internal troops, emergency response agencies. In December 2011, the heads of the member states decided to include in the CRRF special units anti-drug agencies.

The collective rapid reaction force is a universal potential capable of resolving conflicts of varying intensity, conducting special operations to suppress terrorist attacks, violent extremist actions, manifestations of organized crime, as well as to prevent and eliminate emergency situations.

In accordance with the Agreement on Peacekeeping Activities, the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces (about 3.6 thousand personnel) were created. On a planned basis, they are trained and prepared for solving specific peacekeeping tasks. In 2010, the heads of member states expressed their readiness, using the CSTO peacekeeping potential to assist the United Nations, to contribute to the prevention of armed conflicts and the peaceful settlement of emerging conflict and crisis situations.

The contingents of regional groupings, as well as the forces of the CSTO CRRF, are carrying out a joint combat training. Exercises and other preparatory activities are regularly conducted. An Interstate Target Program has been approved to equip the CSTO CRRF with modern operationally compatible weapons and equipment. For these purposes, the Russian Federation plans to allocate significant financial resources.

Steps are being taken to create integrated systems for military purposes: unified air defense systems in the Central Asian and other regions, a system for command and control of forces and means of collective security, an information and intelligence system, and a system for technical protection of railways.

The Organization, along with the implementation of its statutory goals at the regional level, solves the problem of promoting the development of the national potentials of the member states.

In accordance with the Agreement on the Basic Principles of Military-Technical Cooperation concluded by the member states, the supply of weapons and military equipment to the CSTO allies at preferential (as for their own needs) prices has been organized. The agreement played an important role in the fact that over the 10 years of its practical implementation, the supply of military products in the CSTO format has increased almost tenfold, turned from a political into a full-fledged economic factor, into a serious basis for the formation of a common arms market for the CSTO. The approaches being implemented have brought benefits to the CSTO member states amounting to hundreds of millions of US dollars, and modern and sophisticated weapons and military equipment have become a significant part of the deliveries.

Military-technical cooperation is supplemented by the mechanism of military-economic cooperation, which involves the implementation of joint R&D programs in the CSTO format, the modernization of weapons and military equipment - with appropriate financial support for these activities. The main instruments of interaction in this area are the Interstate Commission for Military-Economic Cooperation and the Business Council under the MKVEC, within the framework of which the issues of maintaining the specialization of the defense industries of the member states are being resolved, proposals are being worked out on the creation of joint ventures for the development, production, disposal and repair of equipment and weapons .

An integral element of cooperation is the joint training of personnel for the armed forces, law enforcement and special services of member states. Every year, on a free or preferential basis, in accordance with the agreements existing in the CSTO, only in the Russian Federation are enrolled: in military universities - up to a thousand citizens of member states, in law enforcement and civilian universities - up to 100 people. Several dozens of relevant educational institutions are currently involved in the training of specialists in the field of security.

Countering modern challenges and threats

After the decision in 2006 to give the CSTO a multifunctional character, the Organization is increasing its contribution to counteracting regional challenges and threats. The necessary coordinating mechanisms have been created and are successfully functioning to coordinate national activities. The main goal of the CSTO is to reach the practical interaction of the relevant services, to provide the opportunity for everyday cooperation of ordinary employees, to get a real return on the efforts made. To this end, collective special operational and preventive operations are regularly carried out under the auspices of the CSTO.

An important practical area of ​​the Organization's efforts is countering drug trafficking. Under the auspices of the Organization, the Coordinating Council of the Heads of the Competent Authorities for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking is conducting the Regional Anti-Drug Operation of Permanent Action “Channel”, the purpose of which is to identify and block drug smuggling routes, suppress the activities of clandestine laboratories, prevent the diversion of precursors into illegal circulation, and undermine the economic foundations of the drug business . The operation involves employees of the drug control, internal affairs (police), border guard, customs, state (national) security and financial intelligence agencies of the Member States of the Organization. Representatives of about 30 states that are not members of the CSTO, including the United States, EU countries, a number of Latin American states, as well as experts from international organizations: the OSCE, Interpol and Europol take part in the operation as observers.

In total, during the Canal operations, about 245 tons of drugs were seized from illicit trafficking, including more than 12 tons of heroin, about 5 tons of cocaine, 42 tons of hashish, as well as over 9300 firearms and about 300 thousand pieces of ammunition.

In February 2011, the heads of the CSTO member states adopted a Statement on the problem of the drug threat emanating from Afghanistan. Work continues in the UN Security Council to promote the initiative to give the Afghan drug production the status of a threat to peace and security.

Under the leadership of the Coordinating Council of the Heads of the Competent Authorities to Combat Illegal Migration, coordinated operational and preventive measures and special operations are being carried out to combat illegal migration, which provide for joint efforts to block the channels of illegal migration of third-country nationals and suppress the criminal activities of traffickers and organized groups "Illegal" .

Joint efforts are being made to ensure international information security. The interaction of special units of the security and internal affairs agencies is actively developing in order to suppress crimes in the field of modern information technologies within the framework of the “Proxy” operation.

By decision of the President of the Russian Federation, the Center for Modern Information Technologies was established on the basis of Moscow State University, where training of specialists in the field of information security is organized. The last stream of 19 trainees - representatives of Member States completed their training at the Center on December 14, 2012.

Information work and inter-parliamentary cooperation

An important role in the activities of the Organization is played by inter-parliamentary cooperation. Since 2006, the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly has been operating (link), which, in fact, is the second supporting structure after the instruments of the executive power, ensuring stability in the activities of the CSTO.

The CSTO PA is an important means of political cooperation of the CSTO. The flexibility of parliamentary work makes it possible, if necessary, to show greater efficiency and openness in responding to current events in international life, in establishing contacts with our partners in the West. Traditionally, in order to analyze the military-political situation in the regions of collective security, field meetings of the permanent commissions of the Parliamentary Assembly are held, followed by a report to the PA Council.

The CSTO Parliamentary Assembly also plays a significant role in ensuring common approaches to the harmonization of legislation, work on the convergence of the legal fields of the member states, primarily on the issues of the main activities of the Organization, namely: drug trafficking, illegal migration, the fight against terrorism and organized crime.

The CSTO conducts intensive information and analytical work, actively interacts with the media, journalistic organizations and press services of the authorities of the member states in order to complement efforts in the field of information cooperation, countering the propaganda of violence, the ideology of racism and xenophobia. The printed organ of the CSTO is published, which is the periodical information and analytical magazine "Allies". A weekly TV program of the same name is organized on the Mir TV and Radio Broadcasting Company. The monthly program "International Policy - CSTO" is broadcast on Radio Russia.

Experts of the CSTO Institute conduct fundamental and applied research on a wide range matters relating to the Organization. The CSTO Scientific and Expert Council functions, within the framework of which, with the involvement of experts from the leading scientific centers of the member states, topical problems of the formation of a collective security system in modern geopolitical conditions are considered.

Russian Presidency in the CSTO, 2014

The chairmanship of Russia in the CSTO was based on the approved by the Chairman of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO, the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin priorities and action plan for the implementation of the decisions of the September (2013) session of the CSTO CSC in Sochi.

In order to strengthen the mechanisms of cooperation and ensure security at the external borders of the CSTO zone of responsibility, the main attention was paid to the adoption of preventive measures to counter the challenges and threats emanating from the territory of Afghanistan. A temporary working group has been created from representatives of the border departments of the CSTO member states to coordinate work to strengthen border security in Central Asia. The working group on Afghanistan under the CSTO Ministerial Council conducted a regular “check of the clock” on the development of the situation, representatives of a number of international organizations took part in its work.

Improvement of joint operational and combat training of forces and means of the collective security system continued. A decision was made to create the Collective Aviation Forces of the CSTO. In 2014, three major joint exercises were held: "Frontier - 2014", "Indestructible Brotherhood - 2014" and "Interaction-2014". A significant impetus to closer cooperation in the field of security was given by the informal summit of the heads of member states in Moscow on May 8, 2014.

Comprehensive work was carried out to develop the peacekeeping component of the Organization's activities. With the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the UN Secretariat, recommendations were worked out regarding the composition, structure, equipment, training of the CSTO peacekeeping contingents with a view to their involvement in peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the UN.

Being a diversified international organization, the CSTO strengthened the mechanisms for combating modern challenges and security threats, primarily in such areas as countering drug trafficking, illegal migration, and crimes in the information sphere. The CSTO Anti-Drug Strategy for 2015-20 was adopted, the anti-drug operation "Channel", a set of special measures to counter illegal migration "Illegal" were carried out on a regular basis. The status of a permanent operation was given to Operation PROXY to combat crimes in the field of information technology. The Organization's capacity to deal with emergencies is being progressively strengthened. The fight against terrorism and organized crime remains among the important areas of work.

The parliamentary dimension of the CSTO activities has been further developed, primarily in terms of synchronizing the national legislations of the member states. On November 6, 2014, Vladimir Putin received the heads of the parliaments of the CSTO member states, as well as the countries - observers to the CSTO PA - Serbia and Afghanistan

The most important area of ​​work of the CSTO is the foreign policy coordination of the member states. Working meetings of foreign ministers "on the sidelines" of major international events have become regular, and the practice of adopting joint statements on issues relevant to the CSTO member states has been continued and expanded. During the period of Russia's chairmanship in the CSTO, 17 joint statements were adopted, 6 of which were made by the CSTO foreign ministers.

In order to develop interaction between the CSTO and other international and regional organizations, meetings were held between the CSTO Secretary General and the Chairman of the CSTO Permanent Council with the UN Secretary General and his deputies, meetings were held twice with the OSCE Secretary General. At the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, a Resolution on cooperation between the UN and the CSTO was adopted.

The external relations of the CSTO with other international organizations, primarily the CIS and the SCO, were expanding. With the support of the Russian Chairmanship, meetings of the CSTO Secretary General with Latin American states and countries of the Asia-Pacific region were organized.

In general, Russia's chairmanship in the CSTO contributed to enhancing the role and potential of the Organization, as well as the development of allied relations with partners. In 2015, Tajikistan became the chairman of the CSTO.