The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will strengthen the military infrastructure of Tajikistan for the sake of regional security.

TASS says Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia Valery Gerasimov, who is also Head of the CSTO Military Committee, remarked this  at a meeting of the CSTO Military Council that took place yesterday through video conferencing.  

“Areas of further work on improving facilities of the military infrastructure in Tajikistan have been identified for the deployment of the CSTO coalition groups,” Gerasimov was quoted as saying

Meanwhile, Belarusian news agency BelTA says the meeting participants discussed challenges and threats to military security in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia collective security regions as well as matters of further development of the collective air force and the organization of aerial defense of coalition forces during their initial deployment and operation in collective security regions. 

Members of the CSTO Military Committee were reportedly informed about priority directions of the CSTO's work in the military sphere, which Armenia has suggested for the duration of the country's presidency over the organization in 2022.

Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, Colonel-General Anatoly Sidorov informed those present about progress in tapping the CSTO's military potential for UN peacekeeping operations.  He, in particular, noted that a special representative for peacekeeping operations of the CSTO secretary general has been instituted. A joint working group of representatives of the CSTO Secretariat, the CSTO Joint Staff, and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations has been established.    

Chiefs of the general staffs of the armed forces of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and CSTO Deputy Secretary General Tohir Khairulloyev took part in the session. 

The CSTO Military Committee was established at the Council of Ministers of Defense of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in accordance with clause 15 of the Regulations on the Council of Ministers of Defense of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, approved by the Decision of the Collective Security Council April 28, 2003, in order to expeditiously consider the issues of planning and use of forces and means of the collective security system of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. 

General management of the Military Committee is carried out by the Council of Foreign Ministers.

In its activities, the Military Committee is guided by generally recognized principles and norms of international law, the Collective Security Treaty of May 15, 1992, the Charter of the CSTO of October 7, 2002, decisions of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO, the Council of Ministers of Defense and other regulatory acts governing the activities of the Organization, bilateral and multilateral international agreements on cooperation in the military sphere, of which the CSTO member states are parties.

The members of the Military Committee are the Chiefs of the General Staffs of the Armed Forces of  Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan as well as the Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff.