CSTO has the necessary military power to deal with present geopolitical threats. The Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF) and its peacekeeping contingent, together with East European and Caucasus regional groups of forces and the Central Asian Collective Rapid Deployment Force, comprise the organization’s military component.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is operating in a complex geopolitical environment. In addition to existing challenges and threats, new negative trends have arisen in recent years:
- chronic instability in Afghanistan, which has a negative effect on the entire Central Asian region. Extremist and terrorist groups are attempting to infiltrate CSTO member countries to stage armed struggles for power, create a terrorist underground and recruit discontented citizens to further their political agenda;
- increased activity of radical religious and nationalist groups that seek to exploit social problems, activist sentiments (especially among youth) and interethnic conflict to expand their influence;
- increased activity of organized criminal syndicates, especially those engaged in drug trafficking and people smuggling. These groups use their illicit earnings to make inroads into the government and to expand their criminal activities;
- an arc of instability spanning the Middle East and North Africa has taken shape, creating more opportunities for groups and organizations to commit extremist actions, acts of terror and other crimes against the individual, society and the constitutional system.
These challenges, both new and old, demand an adequate political response from the CSTO. For this purpose the CSTO has developed a well-oiled mechanism of political coordination.
That being said, the CSTO also has the necessary military power to deal with threats. The Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF) and its peacekeeping contingent, together with East European and Caucasus regional groups of forces and the Central Asian Collective Rapid Deployment Force, comprise the organization’s military component.
The CRRF is a universal tool capable of resolving conflicts of varying degrees of intensity, conducting special operations to thwart terrorist attacks and violent extremist action, as well as preventing and responding to emergency situations.
The CSTO is stepping up joint efforts to counter new challenges and threats to collective security, as illustrated by successful joint operations code-named Kanal, Nelegal and Proxy.
The organization’s commitments to provide support, including military support, to other member countries have been extended to cover armed attacks by illegal armed organizations and criminal gangs. A limited number of member countries are now allowed to intervene in such situations. The office of the special representative of the CSTO’s Collective Security Council is under development, and the necessary legal foundation has been created for snap consultations and decisions, including via videoconferencing.
Still, the growing instability in the world and the deteriorating global and regional security situation calls for further measures to improve the CSTO and new tools for collectively resisting threats and reversing negative trends.
A key item on the agenda is implementing agreements reached by CSTO heads of state at an informal meeting in Astana on August 12 to promote the CSTO’s solidarity, mutual support and capabilities to protect the constitutional systems, sovereignty and territorial integrity of its members and to use the organization as an intermediary in resolving bilateral disputes. Proposals are being developed to step up joint efforts against drug trafficking and to improve coordination in the fight against terrorism, extremist groups and organized crime syndicates. Plans include a program to arm the CRRF and measures providing military-technical assistance to armed forces, border troops and law enforcement agencies of some CSTO members. Measures are also being developed to improve the organization’s collective response to natural and man-made disasters, and there are proposals on the table to adapt the decision-making process to deal with emergency and crisis situations.
We do not see these decisions as reform, much less an effort to demolish the old system and clear the ground for something new. Rather they are meant to improve the collective response system in light of the current situation in CSTO member countries. The CSTO is a living organism that is constantly adapting to changes and seeking novel paths. This is the key to its success.
