COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY ORGANIZATION

Collective Security Treaty Organization: translation

(CSTO)

   Military alliance. Also referred to as the Tashkent Treaty, the Collective Security Treaty Organization is a military extension of the Commonwealth of Independent States politico-economic union intended to protect the territorial security of its members. The CTSO stipulates that an attack on one member of the group, which includes the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, will be interpreted as an attack on all the members.Members also agree not to join other collective security arrangements such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which is seen as the greatest threat to the military pact. In 2008, the first major joint military exercises took place in Armenia under the banner of “Rubezh 2008.” An as-yet-unproven rapid reaction force for dealing with threats in Central Asia is currently in development. The organization, originally comprised of only six members, was created on 7 October 2002; Uzbekistan formally joined in 2008. After 2006, the organization, which had seen tepid participation by its members, became more politically salient in the face of spreading color revolutions across post-Soviet space. An annual rotating presidency is employed among the member states.

   The current secretary general is the Russian General Nikolay Bordyuzha. In 2007, he made headlines by implying that Iran, a state from outside the former Soviet Union, could potentially join the organization in order to help combat narcotics trafficking in Central Asia, a major concern of all members.