Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992 in Tashkent by the Heads of six countries: Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Subsequently, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus joined it. The treaty came into force on April 20, 1994. In April 1999, the Protocol on prolongation of the Collective Security Treaty was signed by six of them (except for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan).

It was decided to transform the CST into a full-fledged international organization – the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at the Moscow session of the Collective Security Treaty on May 14, 2002. On October 7, 2002 the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Agreement on legal status of the CSTO were signed in Kishinev and came into force on September 18, 2003.

On December 2, 2004 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution granting the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) an observer status in the UN General Assembly.

The statutory bodies of the Organization are the following: the Collective Security Council (CSC), the Council of Foreign Ministers (COM), the Council of Ministers of Defense (CIO), the Committee of Secretaries of Security Council (CSSC).

The key objectives of the CSTO include the provision of national and collective security, intensive politico-military cooperation, foreign policy coordination on international and regional security issues, the establishment of multilateral cooperation mechanisms, including a military component, the development of cooperation in the counteraction to modern challenges and security threats, such as international terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal migration, transnational organized crime, information security and cybersecurity, biological security, military-technical cooperation.

In 2023, the Republic of Belarus presides in the CSTO.

The motto of the Belarusian Presidency of the CSTO is as follows: “Through solidarity and cooperation to peace and security”.

Against the backdrop the systemic crisis in international relations and persistent multiple challenges and threats to security in the CSTO area, the fundamental objectives of the Belarusian presidency are:

on the internal contour - increasing the cohesion of the CSTO Member States and settlement of contradictions between them in order to strengthen the Organization, ensure security and stability in its area of responsibility;

on the external contour – strengthening of the role and significance of the CSTO in the system of international relations and the comprehensive conformity of the CSTO activities with the context of regional and global security.

The priority directions of the Belarusian presidency are:

the settlement of crisis situations and the prevention of further destabilization in the CSTO area of responsibility;

the effective positioning of the CSTO in the external contour through the development of cooperation with international organizations and third countries in order to meet the evolving challenges of regional and global security;