Collective Security Treaty Organisation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (December 2008)

Collective Security Treaty Organization Организация Договора о коллективной безопасности
Full members     Observers     Other CIS members
Headquarters		Moscow, Russia
Official language		Russian
Membership		7 member states  Armenia  Belarus  Kazakhstan  Kyrgyzstan  Russia  Tajikistan  Uzbekistan
Leaders
-	Secretary General	Nikolai Bordyuzha
Establishment
-	Signed as CST	15 May 1992
-	Effective as CST	20 April 1994
-	Signed as CSTO	7 October 2002
-	Effective as CSTO	18 September 2003
Website www.dkb.gov.ru

On October 7, 2002, the Presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, signed a charter in Tashkent, founding the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) (Russian: Организация Договора о Коллективной Безопасности (ОДКБ~ODKB)) or simply Ташкентский договор (The Tashkent Treaty). Nikolai Bordyuzha was appointed secretary general of the new organization. On 23 June 2006, Uzbekistan became a full participant in the CSTO and its membership was formally ratified by its parliament on 28 March 2008.^[1] The CSTO is an observer organization at the United Nations General Assembly.

The charter reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force. Signatories would not be able to join other military alliances or other groups of states, while aggression against one signatory would be perceived as an aggression against all. To this end, the CSTO holds yearly military command exercises for the CSTO nations to have an opportunity to improve inter-organization cooperation. The largest-scale CSTO military exercise held to date were the "Rubezh 2008" exercises hosted in Armenia where a combined total of 4,000 troops from all 7 constituent CSTO member countries conducted operative, strategic, and tactical training with an emphasis towards furthering efficiency of the collective security element of the CSTO partnership. ^[2]

The CSTO employs a "rotating presidency" system in which the country leading the CSTO alternates every year. Currently Armenia has the CSTO presidency.

Contents 1 Member states 1.1 Future membership 2 History 3 Recent Developments 4 Military force 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Member states

• Current members:
  •  Armenia (2002)
    • Military of Armenia
  •  Belarus (2002)
    • Military of Belarus
  •  Kazakhstan (2002)
    • Military of Kazakhstan
  •  Kyrgyzstan (2002)
    • Military of Kyrgyzstan
  •  Russia (2002)
    • Military of Russia
  •  Tajikistan (2002)
    • Military of Tajikistan
  •  Uzbekistan (2006)
    • Military of Uzbekistan

• Former members of the Collective Security Treaty of the Commonwealth of Independent States who did not join CSTO:
  •  Azerbaijan (joined 1994, withdrew 1999)
  • Georgia (joined 1994, withdrew 1999) - plans to join NATO

[edit] Future membership

In May 2007 the CSTO secretary-general Nikolai Bordyuzha suggested Iran could join the CSTO saying, "The CSTO is an open organization. If Iran applies in accordance with our charter, we will consider the application." ^[3] If Iran joined it would be the first state outside the former Soviet Union to become a member of the organization.

[edit] History

The CSTO grew out of the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and first began as the CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) which was signed on May 15, 1992, by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in the city of Tashkent. Azerbaijan signed the treaty on September 24, 1993, Georgia on December 9, 1993 and Belarus on December 31, 1993. The treaty came into effect on April 20, 1994.

The CST was set to last for a 5-year period unless extended. On April 2, 1999, only six members of the CST signed a protocol renewing the treaty for another five year period -- Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to sign and withdrew from the treaty instead. At the same time Uzbekistan joined the GUAM group, established in 1997 by Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova, and largely seen as intending to counter Russian influence in the region.

[edit] Recent Developments

During 2005, the CSTO partners conducted some common military exercises. In 2005, Uzbekistan withdrew from GUAM and joined the CSTO in 2006 in order to seek closer ties with Russia.

In June 2007, Kyrgyzstan assumed the rotating CSTO presidency.

In October 2007, the CSTO signed an agreement with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, to broaden cooperation on issues such as security, crime, and drug trafficking.^[4]

On October 6, 2007, CSTO members agreed to a major expansion of the organization that would create a CSTO peacekeeping force that could deploy under a U.N. mandate or without one in its member states. The expansion would also allow all members to purchase Russian weapons at the same price as Russia.^[5]

On August 29, 2008, Russia announced it would seek CSTO recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Three days before, on August 26, Russia recognized the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. ^[6]

On September 5, 2008, Armenia assumed the rotating CSTO presidency during a CSTO meeting in Moscow, Russia. ^[7]

[edit] Military force

On February 4, 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that the rapid military reaction-force that would be deployed during a military aggression against an CSTO member would be "just as good as comparable NATO forces". He added that Russia would be ready to contribute a division and a brigade.^[8]

[edit] See also

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
• Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
• GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM)
• Military alliance
• Eurasian Economic Community (EURASEC)
• Post-Soviet states
• Southeast Asia Treaty Organization SEATO
• Warsaw Pact

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Collective Security Treaty Organisation

• CSTO Official Site (in Russian)
• The Charter of the CSTO

v • d • e Central Asian regional organizations Central Asia plus Japan · Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program · Collective Security Treaty Organisation · Commonwealth of Independent States · Economic Cooperation Organization · Eurasian Economic Community · Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

v • d • e Power in international relations Types of power Philosophical power · Soft power · Hard power · Smart power · Political power (Machtpolitik • Realpolitik) Types of power status Middle power · Regional power · Great power  · Superpower (Potential superpowers · Energy superpower) · Hyperpower Geopolitics British Century · American Century · Chinese Century · Asian Century Theory and history Balance of power · Historical powers · Polarity · Military power projection · Power transition theory · Second Superpower · Superpower collapse · Superpower disengagement Organizations and groups G2 (proposed)  · G7  · G8  · G8+5 · G10 · G15 · G20 (finance) · G20 (developing) · G33 (developing) · G77 (G24, chapter of G77) · BRIC · Next Eleven · SCO · ACD · NATO · CSTO  · ANZUS  · South American Defense Council · ASEAN  · APEC