CSTO: News and Developments

Werewolf wrote:http://www.odkb.gov.ru/start/index_aengl.htm

Still member, go to official sides and not some crappy worthless sides as wikishmedia or telegraph.

The level of denial in this forum never seize to amaze me.

Uzbekistan has withdrawn as a member in July 2012 ! It's a fact.

Not only the Telegraph that reports it, but many other sources too.

Even Uzbekistani sources confirmed that long time ago in 2012.

Uzbekistan withdraws from CSTO bloc

http://www.uznews.net/en/world/21680-uzbekistan-withdraws-from-csto-bloc

It also states that Uzbekistan might seek membership once again some time in the future but Lukashenko from Belarus told
that this time, any new membership is definitely not going to be easy, as other members are very irritated because of Karimovs
behaviour.

T055 wrote:

Werewolf wrote:http://www.odkb.gov.ru/start/index_aengl.htm

Still member, go to official sides and not some crappy worthless sides as wikishmedia or telegraph.

The level of denial in this forum never seize to amaze me.

Uzbekistan has withdrawn as a member in July 2012 ! It's a fact.

Not only the Telegraph that reports it, but many other sources too.

Even Uzbekistani sources confirmed that long time ago in 2012.

Uzbekistan withdraws from CSTO bloc

http://www.uznews.net/en/world/21680-uzbekistan-withdraws-from-csto-bloc

It also states that Uzbekistan might seek membership once again some time in the future but Lukashenko from Belarus told
that this time, any new membership is definitely not going to be easy, as other members are very irritated because of Karimovs
behaviour.

BTW this site http://www.uznews.net/ seems to be very anti-russian

look some news

http://www.uznews.net/en/world/26900-elder-brother-is-aiming-to-go-rogue

http://www.uznews.net/en/world/26524-eaeu-a-soviet-union-substitute

[quote="George1"][quote="T055"]

Werewolf wrote:

BTW this site http://www.uznews.net/ seems to be very anti-russian

-----------------------------------

It doesn't remove the fact that ITAR-TASS journalists are stupid, when even not knowing how
many members CSTO has as of today.

It's a fact that Uzbekistan is no longer a CSTO member, and that has been the case for almost
two years now.

Uzbekistan is however, still a SCO member, but they are no longer a CSTO member.

Here is an article from Voice of Russia too. Many sources have reported this long time ago, and
has been official for almost two years.

http://voiceofrussia.com/2012_06_28/79653212/

So, Uzbekistan is no CSTO member, but they are still a SCO member, as I also pointed out in the
beginning.

sepheronx wrote:

Regardless, who cares. Uzbekistan will jump around again and so on so forth.

Well, CSTO cares, as Karimov carnage the image of CSTO by jumping in&out of the alliance.

If he ever want to join again, the admission shouldn't be easy as he once again might "jump" out of the
alliance.

An alliance is not for members to jump in&out as rabbits, but for long-term commitment.

Nice

At the heart of the agreement is an agreement that if one of the member states subjected to aggression by any state or group of states, then it will be considered as an aggression against all States parties to the Treaty. In the case of an act of aggression against any of the Parties, all other states will provide the necessary assistance, including military assistance, 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.

Putin submitted to the ratification of the agreement on the management of the hidden forces of the CSTO

NATO’s Involvement in Ukraine Conflict Counterproductive: CSTO Secretary General

BADEN (Austria), October 23 (RIA Novosti) – NATO's involvement in the Ukrainian conflict does not help in the process of crisis resolution and is counterproductive, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha told RIA Novosti Thursday.

"It was a great surprise for us when the Secretary General of NATO started giving interviews on Ukraine to the left and right all of a sudden, although Ukraine is not a member of NATO, planned exercises there, suddenly sent some instructors, in other words started getting involved in that process. I think it's counterproductive. It only harms the process of resolving the situation," Bordyuzha said.

The Secretary General noted that Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is not interfering in the Ukrainian crisis, since Ukraine is not a CSTO member, and other similar organizations, such as NATO, should not get involved in the Ukrainian conflict either.

On Wednesday, Bordyuzha told RIA Novosti that the political leadership of Ukraine is responsible for restoring order in the country and any external interference only complicates the situation.

The conflict in Ukraine escalated in mid-April when Kiev launched a military operation in the country's southeastern regions, which refused to recognize the new government that came to power as a result of the February coup.

No plans to increase Russian task force in Central Asia — CSTO

Where is the SCO thread have no idea. Anyway here is an article of some interest:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-07/putin-signs-secret-pact-crush-nato

Post-Soviet security bloc to discuss setting up joint air, missile defense system

Hannibal Barca wrote:Where is the SCO thread have no idea. Anyway here is an article of some interest:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-07/putin-signs-secret-pact-crush-nato

it is in "International Politics Forum" section, with the name "SCO politics"

CSTO exercises tested cooperation system of member-states’ armies

YEKATERINBURG, November 17. /TASS/. This year’s joint military drills of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have improved the cooperation system between the member-states, the chiefs of CSTO General Staff confirmed on Monday.

“This year, we have implemented a whole complex of routine CSTO exercises: Rubezh (Frontier)-2014, Enduring Brotherhood-2014 and Interaction-2014. Summing up the results, the chiefs of General Staff of the member-states agreed that the exercises training has been significantly improved,” Russia’s first deputy defense minister and chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said. “The work in this direction will continue in 2015,” he said.

A deputy secretary-general of the security bloc Valery Semerikov said earlier on Monday serious faults had been found “in the cooperation between forces and means.”

The Rubezh-2014 exercises this July involved military forces from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, as well as the Joint Staff and the Secretariat of the CSTO. The drills tested the consistency of work of the multi-national forces under joint command.

In late July, the Enduring Brotherhood-2014, which was held at Kyrgyzstan’s Ala-Too firing range near the capital of Bishkek, involved military forces of all the CSTO member-states. Their goal was to jointly prepare and conduct operations to maintain peace by the CSTO collective peacekeeping forces in the Central Asian region.

The Interaction-2014 in August involved 3,000 personnel, including over 500 from Russia’s Airborne Troops, some 200 units of military and special equipment, and around 30 aircraft and helicopters. The Russian paratroopers were joined by military forces from Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

More than 17 tons of Afghan drugs seized in CSTO operations in 2014

Two major operations carried out this year were aimed at blocking drug trafficking routes from Afghanistan and stopping the activity of transnational drug groups operating in Central Asia

UNITED NATIONS, November 21. /TASS/. A total of 17.5 tons of drugs from Afghanistan have been seized this year in operations of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told a UN General Assembly session on Afghanistan on Thursday.

Churkin said two major operations carried out this year were aimed at blocking drug trafficking routes from Afghanistan and stopping the activity of transnational drug groups operating in Central Asia.

On behalf of the CSTO, Churkin welcomed participation of Afghan law enforcement agencies as observers in special operations and urged a bigger role of NATO member states in fight against drug threat from Afghanistan.

The Collective Security Treaty Organisation brings together Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

CSTO foreign, defence ministers and secretaries of security councils to meet in Moscow

Interesting!! CSTO states plan to set up collective air force

Russian National Defense Control Center to work for all CSTO members — Putin

Post-Soviet security bloc to set up crisis response center

Russian Defense Ministry identifies presence of first IS groups in Afghanistan

Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov says it can be seen very well they are beginning to put pressures on the southern borders of Russia's allies, the CSTO member-states in the first place

MOSCOW, 4 March. /TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry is concerned over the situation on the southern borders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as it has identified the emergence of the first groups of Islamic State militants in Afghanistan, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told a news conference at TASS on Thursday.

"We are alarmed over the situation on the CSTO’s southern borders. We are aware of what is happening in Afghanistan. We know that the first groups of the Islamic State militants have appeared in the region," he said.

"We can see very well they are beginning to put pressures on the southern borders of our allies, the CSTO member-states in the first place. It is Tajikistan that I have in mind above all. For our part we have been taking measures to reinforce Russian military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan."

CSTO has 22,000 well-trained elite troops to protect members' sovereignty — CSTO chief

CSTO Joint Staff Conduct Exercises Countering ISIL

The CSTO military alliance, comprising Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, conducted joint counter-ISIL exercises.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Joint Staff conducted exercises simulating counteraction to the Islamic State militant group, the CSTO said in a statement Monday.

The CSTO is a military alliance comprising Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The exercise included the simulation of ISIL militant activities in non-existent CSTO member states.

In particular, participants focused on providing military, financial and technical help to countries in which militant groups, such as Islamic State, show rapid advancement. The participating military also proposed measures to ensure border security in member states in case of radical group advancement.

ISIL, known for its many human rights atrocities, including kidnappings and public executions, has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria. The group is shown to have affiliates in North Africa, Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

According to estimates by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, at least 1,800 residents of CSTO member states have traveled to Syria to join the armed conflict between the Syrian government and various militias, including the Islamic State.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150323/1019873598.html#ixzz3VCuIvR53

Post-Soviet security bloc military committee discusses threats

MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. The Military Committee of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) held a meeting in Tajikistan on Thursday. The Russian Defence Ministry press service told reporters that the meeting was attended by First Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff Colonel General Nikolai Bogdanovsky.

"The heads of the military delegations of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan at the meeting analysed the changes and threats to military security in the CSTO collective security regions," the ministry said.

The meeting participants paid particular attention to the situation in Afghanistan in light with the activity of the international terrorist organisation Islamic State.

The Military Committee meeting also focused on a wide range of issues concerning the combat mission fulfilment by the CSTO collective rapid reaction force, creation of the organisation’s unified antiaircraft and missile defence system with taking into account the measures for the creation of air defence systems in the CSTO collective security regions, activity of the CSTO base training development organisations for military personnel training, conducing joint operational and combat training events in 2015.

IS Poses a Threat to Post-Soviet States

Been thinking about this randomly....

if you had to increase CSTO security effectiveness and actually fulfill its initial promise (lets be honest, it has been pretty lacking overall)....what institutional changes would you make?

Probably a legally binding clause in the treaty to come to each others aid in time of war or crisis.

And a full time, rapid reaction joint unit that can intervene at short notice....something like a reinforced Brigade with support elements

That is what I was thinking, with a unit that can focus on internal problems- after all that is what happened in 2010 and showed the weakness of the organization, not some external threat.

Any thoughts about the institutional structure itself though?
The security council is staffed with the heads of state, so I am not sure that's a good quick response idea to respond to say internal ethnic disturbances getting out of hand. Generally speaking institutions headed by heads of state are the most "nominal" in activity and effectiveness.
Plus they need consensus to do anything- I think if a member state is asking for intervention within its borders then the reaction force should move in "automatically" so to speak.

Perhaps there needs to be a dedicated council to monitor such a deployment specifically- something that exists with the sole purpose of responding to potential loss of civilian life (as a result of uncontrolled violence) by quickly approving the reaction force to be sent in.
The security council can deal with longer term issues, and the defense ministers can meet if the question is one of a member state being attacked by a foreign power. Any response in that case would involve larger scale forces than a peacekeeping ready-to-go force would have at its disposal.

Non-member state peacekeeping is supposed to be done under UN oversight according to the Charter IIRC.