Latest news with #CollectiveSecurityTreatyOrganization
India.com
01-08-2025
- Politics
- India.com
After Thailand-Cambodia clash, another region near India's western border turns volatile, not Pakistan, the countries involved are...
After Thailand-Cambodia clash, another region near India's western border turns volatile, not Pakistan, the countries involved are... In recent times, several parts of Asia have seen growing tension and conflict. Thailand and Cambodia were involved in a violent border clash that lasted for days. Myanmar, one of India's neighbors, has been facing a long-running civil war. Now, trouble seems to be building up along India's western borders as well and this time it is between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. According to The Economic Times, Tajikistan has increased its military presence along the border with Afghanistan due to rising security concerns. A regional group called the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is also stepping in by sending weapons and soldiers to help protect the area from possible terrorist threats or conflict. CSTO meeting focuses on securing Tajikistan-Afghanistan border Tajikistan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a group that also includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. Interestingly, Russia is the only country in the group that has officially recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan. In a recent CSTO meeting, the member countries agreed that Tajikistan should increase its military presence along the border it shares with Afghanistan. The goal is to deal with rising security risks in the region. During the meeting, the countries prepared a list of weapons, military gear, and technical equipment that will be provided to help strengthen Tajikistan's border forces. In a statement, the CSTO said it is deeply concerned about the situation at the Tajik-Afghan border and is taking steps to reinforce security there. Tensions still high between Afghanistan and Tajikistan Relations between Afghanistan and Tajikistan have remained tense ever since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and took control of Kabul. This tension has also been visible along the shared border between the two countries. One major reason for the strained relationship is that about 30 per cent of Afghanistan's population is of Tajik origin. Many leaders of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance are currently based in Tajikistan, which has led to mistrust on both sides. It's not just Tajikistan—other nearby countries are also worried about the possible entry of ISIS-linked terrorists from Afghanistan. Tajikistan, which shares a 1,300-kilometer-long border with Afghanistan, has been vocal about the growing security threats along the frontier. However, Taliban officials have claimed that Afghanistan poses no threat to its neighboring countries.
The Hill
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Russia is losing its grip on the Caucasus — an opportunity for the US
For over 150 years, Russia ruled the South Caucasus, the mountainous region between Europe and Asia, through exploitation, domination and a colonialist divide-and-conquer policy. Moscow's most recent pressure-point has been the conflict over the Armenia-backed separatist Karabakh, where Russia both fueled the conflict and acted as a mediator. Now, Armenia and Azerbaijan are setting clear boundaries — and America has a historic opening to help them. Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan have been in a freefall after Russian police allegedly tortured to death two Azerbaijani citizens amid a greater crackdown on ethnic Azerbaijani in the industrial city of Yekaterinburg. Azerbaijan authorities said the killings were 'ethnically motivated,' and they likely were. In response, Azerbaijan arrested the chief and managing editors of the Russian state media outlet Sputnik, accusing them of working with Russian intelligence. Baku then arrested eight more Russian citizens on charges of drug trafficking and cybercrime. This latest escalation comes amid tensions between the two countries that have simmered since December, when Moscow shot down an Azerbaijani civilian plane, killing 38. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev demanded a public apology and compensation, but Moscow initially ignored him. This set in motion a spiraling escalation that included the ordered closing of Russian state media and cultural centers in Azerbaijan and a massive cyberattack against Azerbaijani state media. For several years, a conflict has also been brewing in neighboring Armenia as well. Right before the killing of the two Azerbaijanis, Armenia ditched a meeting of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, while simultaneously announcing it was entering discussions over defense cooperation with the European Union. Although Yerevan still depends on Russia economically and militarily, it has taken many steps to diversify relations, including with Iran, India and others. Such open defiance from both countries would have been unimaginable just five years ago. However, two events opened the door for the fall of Russian influence in the South Caucasus: the retaking of Karabakh by Azerbaijan and the war in Ukraine. For almost 30 years, Russia used the conflict over the Armenia-backed separatist territory of Karabakh to maintain leverage over both countries. Moscow used similar strategies in the post-Soviet republics of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia by using the support for separatism to pressure all three. But in the Karabakh, Russia pressured both Armenia and Azerbaijan simultaneously. After successful Azerbaijani operations to retake Karabakh in 2020 and 2023, Russia lost its primary leverage. And as Russia was increasingly bogged down in Ukraine, it did not have the same capacity to influence either country. By using such a 'divide and conquer' strategy to keep Azerbaijan and Armenia within its sphere of influence, Russia caused resentment in both. Now, it may be bringing both sides together. In the midst of tensions, the UK-based outlet Middle East Eye reports that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Aliyev plan to meet in Dubai to further discuss a peace agreement. As the situation further develops, the U.S. should carefully seek to support both partners without aggravating tensions. The key would be to contrast itself with Russia as a benefactor that does not seek to bully its partners. There are two steps that Washington can take to increase its influence in the region that would not lead to escalations. The first is to invest in Pashinyan's Crossroads for Peace initiative, a geopolitical strategy to incorporate Armenia into the Middle Corridor through infrastructure development, economic integration and peace diplomacy with Azerbaijan and Turkey. By investing in the project, Washington would further build out the Middle Corridor, which would allow the transit of Asian goods to Europe while bypassing Russia and Iran, and help Armenia become less dependent on Moscow. The second step would be to pursue trilateral defense cooperation with Azerbaijan and Israel, a strategy proposed by high-ranking Israeli parliamentarians and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Such cooperation should be less about deterring Russia (which likely does not wish to strike Azerbaijan) and more about deterring the less predictable Iran. Officials and state media in Tehran have waged information warfare against Baku, accusing it of taking part in Israel's Operation Rising Lion last month by recruiting ethnic Azerbaijanis as spies as well as letting Israel use its territory to carry out strikes. Likewise, partnership with Armenia would come at a crucial time. As longtime regional observer Onnik Krekorian noted, Armenia is 'close to the brink.' Pashinyan faces internal threats from a Russian-backed church and politicians that he has accused of planning a coup. And Armenian reliance on Russian energy remains a crucial vulnerability — Armenia imports 83 percent of its gas and 80 percent of its oil from Moscow. Moscow's decline opens the door — not for new hegemons or a new front, but for new partnerships built on respect for the region's sovereignty. Joseph Epstein is director of the Turan Research Center, a nonpartisan research program at the Yorktown Institute focused on the Turkic and Persian worlds.
The Diplomat
01-07-2025
- Politics
- The Diplomat
CSTO Foreign Ministers Meet in Kyrgyzstan
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan was absent, as Yerevan continues to weigh formally leaving the organization after having frozen its participation in 2024. On June 30, foreign ministers from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states met in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan. The routine meeting comes amid Kyrgyzstan's chairmanship of the CSTO, and follows recent gatherings of the CSTO security council heads in June and defense ministers in May. With one member on the way out, and Russia's continued war in Ukraine, the organization's role and heft remain open questions. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev welcomed the foreign ministers of Belarus (Maxim Ryzhenkov), Kazakhstan (Murat Nurtleu), Russia (Sergey Lavrov), and Tajikistan (Mukhriddin Sirojiddin), as well as CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov. Absent was Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. The CSTO formally launched in 2002, evolving out of the post-Soviet Collective Security Treaty (CST) which had been formed in 1992. The alliance counts among its members Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Russia – the latter widely viewed as leading the organization by dint of its massive size and overwhelming influence. Uzbekistan had been party to the CST but declined to extend its association in 1999, a decision also made by Georgia and Azerbaijan. Tashkent did join the CSTO in 2006, but withdrew in 2012. Armenian authorities last year made clear their dissatisfaction with the CSTO, a break rooted in the organization's inaction in regard to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In February 2024, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the country would freeze its membership. In June 2024, Pashinyan denounced the CSTO once again for failing to come to Armenia's aid. 'We will leave,' Pashinyan said during a parliament session. 'We will decide when to leave. We won't come back, there is no other way.' Those comments came amid Armenia's not-so-subtle distancing from the CSTO, a trend that has only solidified. Armenia skipped the November 2023 CSTO summit in Minsk, Belarus, did not show up for a CSTO joint military exercise in Russia in August 2024, and also skipped the November 2024 CSTO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. In December 2024, Pashinyan remarked, 'We have fulfilled all our allied obligations [to the CSTO] accurately, both morally, politically, and legally, but the allied obligations towards us have not been fulfilled.' He continued, 'In a difficult moment, they left us alone, they abandoned us, and yes, there are opinions that we were betrayed, and I have no argument to assure them otherwise.' The break had passed the 'point of no return,' he said. Despite these comments, and Armenia's persistent absence from CSTO engagements, Russian authorities appear at times somewhat deluded. In December, Lavrov told journalists, 'We hear these rumors that the prime minister of Armenia spoke and discussed many things on this topic in the parliament. We do not impose anything on anyone. We are convinced that making the most of [CSTO] membership is in the interests of Armenia's security.' Russia may be catching on, finally. Following the recent foreign ministers meeting in Kyrgyzstan, Lavrov remarked, 'We still consider Armenia the full-fledged member of this organization but, undoubtedly, a full-fledged membership implies participation and observance of all obligations under the CSTO charter documents. Including paying membership fees, by the way.' In early June, TASS reported that Armenia had not paid its membership fees for 2024. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, speaking in parliament, said that 'Armenia has not paid the membership fee to the CSTO due to the suspension of its membership in this organization.' Mirzoyan added, as reported by TASS, 'Yerevan is assessing all the risks of the decision to withdraw from the CSTO.' For now, Armenia's flag remains on banners for CSTO meetings. After the recent gathering of foreign ministers, a CSTO readout noted that the states 'adopted statements on issues related to international information security, countering radicalization leading to terrorism and extremism, the situation in the Middle East, as well as the establishment of the U.N. Regional Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan.' The also discussed closer cooperation between the CSTO, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – the full constellation of Russian-dominated multilateral organizations. Although specific dates have not been announced, as chair Kyrgyzstan will host the annual leaders summit later this year.
Shafaq News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
CSTO condemns US-Israeli strikes on Iran: Unacceptable escalation
Shafaq News – Cholpon-Ata/Tehran On Monday, foreign ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-led military alliance, denounced recent US and Israeli strikes on Iran, warning they pose a threat to regional and global stability. In a statement released during their meeting in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, the ministers expressed 'deep concern over the dangerous escalation of tensions in the Middle East' and condemned the strikes as violations of the UN Charter and international law. They stressed that attacks on civilian infrastructure, including nuclear energy sites, are 'completely unacceptable' and could lead to 'devastating consequences for peace and global security.' The ministers also warned that such operations undermine efforts to establish a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East and heighten the risk of wider destabilization. CSTO members urged all parties to refrain from further raids on Iranian nuclear sites, particularly those monitored by the IAEA. 'There is no alternative to a peaceful diplomatic resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue,' the ministers affirmed, citing Iran's continued commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Shafaq News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Russia warns: NATO spending will fracture alliance
Shafaq News – Kyrgyzstan/Kyiv NATO's plan to sharply boost defense spending would eventually fracture the alliance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued on Monday, while German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul accused Russia's President Vladimir Putin of pursuing Ukraine's total surrender rather than genuine negotiations. Speaking after a Collective Security Treaty Organization meeting, Lavrov dismissed Polish fears that Russia's military buildup might spark its own collapse, insisting instead that NATO's 'reckless spending spree' would destabilize its members. He claimed Moscow intends to cut defense budgets and prioritize 'common sense,' echoing earlier remarks by Putin in Minsk. Last week, NATO members approved a target to commit 5% of GDP to defense by 2035, allocating 3.5% for military readiness and 1.5% for infrastructure and innovation. Meanwhile in Kyiv, Wadephul accused Putin of seeking 'conquest at any cost,' warning that Russia aimed to weaken Western unity. He reaffirmed Germany's support for Ukraine's sovereignty, calling its defense 'the most important task of our foreign and security policy.'
