Basic facts

The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992 for five-year term, with the possibility of further prolongation.

The Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan became the parties to the CST.

The treaty was registered by the UN Secretariat on November 1, 1995.

At the Session of the Council of Collective Security on April 2, 1999 in Moscow the Protocol of prolongation of the Collective Security Treaty was signed. It was ratified by all member states. According to the Protocol the Treaty is automatically renewed every five years.

On October 7, 2002 the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Agreement on legal status of the CSTO were signed by Heads of all Member States in Kishinev. These documents came into force on September 18, 2003.

On December 2, 2004 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Resolution to grant the observer status to the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the General Assembly of the United Nations.

According to the Treaty the member states maintain their security on collective basis. Article 2 of the Treaty claims: “In case a threat to security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of one or several Member States or a threat to international peace and security Member States will immediately put into action the mechanism of joined consultations with the aim to coordinate their positions and take measures to eliminate the threat that has emerged.”

Simultaneously Article 4 stipulates the following: “In case an act of aggression is committed against any of the Member States all the others Member States will provide it with necessary assistance, including military one, as well as provide support with the means at their disposal in exercise of the right to collective defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.”

The essence of the Treaty, its principals and forms of cooperation, as well as declared positions predetermined a real possibility for the Treaty to become an integral part of common and comprehensive system of collective security for Europe and Asia.

“In case a system of collective security is established in Europe and Asia, and treaties of collective security are concluded to this end which will consistently be strived by the contracting parties, member states will enter into immediate consultations with each other with the aim of making necessary amendments to this Treaty”, – claims Article 1 of the Treaty. This fundamental point is constantly reaffirmed in the CSTO documents adopted later.

According to the 1995 Declaration of the CST Member States, combining their efforts in the sphere of collective security, they consider the establishment of the system of collective security as a part not only of the European security system but also as a building block of a potential Asian security structure.

Initially, the Treaty promoted the creation of national armed forces of Member States, providing adequate conditions for their independent state development. This is confirmed by the relevance of the Treaty in several cases when its articles were applied.

During the autumn 1996 and summer 1998 events due to risky development of situation in Afghanistan near the borders of Central Asian Member States of the CST, the potential of the Treaty was applied to prevent extremists’ attempts to destabilize situation in the region.

Later, in 1999-2000, as the result of efficient measures implemented by Member States of CST with the participation of Uzbekistan, the threat created by large-scale actions of armed groups of international terrorists in southern Kyrgyzstan and elsewhere in Central Asia was neutralized.

The authorities of Tajikistan repeatedly stressed the significant military-political role of the CST in the process of achievement of national reconciliation.

In 1994, after the Treaty came into force, a set of important legal acts was adopted, which promoted further military-political integration in all spheres of its competence. Among the first documents adopted in 1995 were “Declaration of Member States of the CST”, “The Concept of collective security of Member States of the CST”, the document about “Basic directions of deepening military cooperation”. The same year the Plan of realization of the concept of collective security and Basic directions of deepening military cooperation was adopted. These documents were aimed to establish regional system of collective security. The Plan of the second stage of collective security system formation groupings adopted in 1999 had already determined the creation of coalition (regional) troops (forces) in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

Memorandum of improvement of CST effectiveness and its adaptation to the new geopolitical situation adopted by the Council of Collective Security in 2000 became a qualitatively new stage of CST development. By its implementation the Treaty was aimed to deflect new challenges and threats to regional and international security.

At the same time Regulation of adaptation and implementation of collective decisions on the use of forces and weapons of the system of collective security, the Model of regional collective security system, the Basic statements of the coalition strategy were adopted with the aim to establish the legal basis for the CSTO activity in the sphere of providing security of its Member States on collective basis.

The Agreement on the status of units of forces and weapons of the collective security system, the Protocol on forming and functioning of forces and weapons of the collective security system of CST Member States adopted in 2000-2001 were of principle importance.

The Agreement on basic principles of military and technical cooperation signed in 2000 became an important step to promote military and technical cooperation.

Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asia Region were created in 2001 and that was an important step in creation and development of military activity of the CST.

Simultaneously, there was a process of creation and perfection of consultative bodies of the CST: the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Council of Ministers of Defense, and the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils. The Secretariat of Council of Collective Security with adequate working potential was formed and mechanism of consultations was organized at the level of the Council of Collective Security, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Council of Ministers of Defense as well as with participation of deputies of ministers of foreign affairs, deputies of ministers of defense, experts of Member States, their authorized representatives to the Standing Council with the CSTO.

Thus, by 2002 the Collective Security Treaty, as a result of gradual development in the framework of the integration processes became de-facto regional structure of international cooperation corresponding to the spirit of Chapter 8 of the UN Charter.

As a successor of the CST the CSTO became the Eurasian organization not only in the geographical, but also in political and legal sense by means of universal principles and practical purposes as well as direct participation of its Member States in the European and Asian security structures, primarily, in OSCE and Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The decision adopted by the heads of the Member States on May 2002 to transform the CST (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan were its participants) into an international regional organization was caused by the need of adaptation of the Treaty to the dynamics of regional and international security and counteraction against new threats and challenges. Transformed into the Organization, cooperation in the framework of the CST remained on the basis of the principles proclaimed in the Treaty.

According to the CSTO content, it primarily is a factor of the military-political deterrence. Member States regard no states as their enemy and call for mutually beneficial cooperation with all states. The CSTO is open to accession by any state that shares its goals and principles.

The purposes of the Collective Security Treaty Organization are to strengthen peace and international and regional security and stability and to ensure collective protection of independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Member States, in the attainment of which Member States shall give priority to political means.

The main task of the Organization becomes coordination and deepening of military-political cooperation, formation of multilateral structures and mechanism of cooperation to provide national security of member states on collective basis, to provide help, including military one to the Member State which became a victim of aggression.

It was of principle importance for the Organization to include in the CSTO Charter a provision that one of the main aims and directions of activity of the Organization is coordination and joint efforts to struggle against international terrorism and other untraditional threats to security. At the same time the Charter reaffirms the commitment of Member States to harmonize and coordinate their foreign policy positions on international and regional security issues.

Responsibility and competence of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Council of Ministers of Defense, the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils are enlarged. They become not only consultative but also executive bodies. The establishment of the CSTO Standing Council that consists of authorized representatives appointed by Member States was to coordinate cooperation of Member States in the implementation of decisions taken within the framework of the Organization improves the effectiveness of the Organization.

According to the Chapter, decisions adopted by the Organization are compulsory and there are sanctions for non-compliance.

The status of an Observer at the CSTO can be granted to a state or an international organization under certain conditions.

The Charter and the Agreement on legal status of the CSTO came into force on September 18, 2003, since the date of delivery the last written notification of ratification of those acts by Member States which had signed them to the depositary (the Secretary General of CSTO).

On the basis of the Charter and its development the provisions of organizational and financial activity of CSTO and its bodies were worked out and adopted on the Session of the Council of Collective Security on April 28, 2003 in Dushanbe.

The Joint Staff of CSTO (military headquarters authority) was established to intensify work to strengthen the military component of the Organization.

An intensive work with the view to build up the Organization and development of potential to meet the challenges in key areas of activity was going on in 2004-2008.

During this period a number of fundamental documents such as the Plan of the main activities on all-sided improvement of intergovernmental cooperation, formation and development of collective security system in the framework of the CSTO for 2006-2010, the Plan for coalition military formation for the period till 2010 and further on, and others were adopted. These documents contain statements on specific areas of development for the future. The activity of the Interstate Commission of military-economic cooperation was transferred into the CSTO format.

Complex interstate efficient preventive operations called “Channel” to combat illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances were set up. Working and auxiliary bodies in the sphere of combating new challenges and threats were established.

There is a serious effort to develop relationships with other international organizations acting in the sphere of security, such as the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council, the OSCE, the EurAsEC, the SCO, the CIS and the IMO.

The Declaration of CSTO Member States on further perfection and improvement of effectiveness of Organization activity was adopted at the Session of the Council of Collective Security on June 23, 2006 in Minsk.

The Document contained statement of the need to take additional measures to adapt CSTO to changing political realities and new requirements for multifunctional international security structure.

It was decided to restore the membership of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the CSTO in Minsk.

At the Session of the Council of Collective Security on October 6, 2007 in Dushanbe the Declaration of the CSTO Member States to mark the 15^th anniversary of the Collective Security Treaty was signed; important decision were adopted in the field of peacemaking, on the  military-economic cooperation, in the sphere of military-technical cooperation and military formation.

The Heads of States signed the Agreement on peacemaking activity and adopted a set of documents on the matter.

On the Session of the Council of Collective Security on September 5, 2008 in Moscow the Declaration of Moscow Session of the Council of Collective Security of the CSTO was signed.

Important decisions in the sphere of foreign policy cooperation in the field of military formation as well as to counter challenges and threats. In particular, the Plan of activities of the CSTO Member States to collectively counter illicit traffic in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors on 2008-2011 was adopted. The Plan of collective actions of the CSTO Member States to implement the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy for 2008-2012 and the Program of joint actions to create a system of information security of the CSTO Member States were adopted.

To conclude, creation and activity of the CSTO became the important political event for all Member States of the Treaty, strengthening their political authority and positions on the international stage, providing stability and security on the international and regional levels.