Is Russia trying to blur the line between the CIS and the CSTO?

The heads of the Security Councils of the ten member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States took place in Moscow on Wednesday, 21 November. It was hosted by the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev. This was the sixth gathering of the Security Council heads and the meeting focused on the threat of terrorism. The framework is considered an important space for Russia to maintain its influence on the security apparatus of the neighbouring former Soviet republics.

It seems however that this year Russia decided to take the process one step further by inviting to the meeting Valeri Semerikov, the Acting Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), the military alliance that it leads.

A family photo of the meeting showed the Acting Secretary general of CSTO posing with the representatives of the ten CIS member states and the Secretary General of the CIS.

All members of the CSTO are members of the CIS, but not all members of the CIS are members of CSTO. Azerbaijan, Moldova, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are not.

There is some speculation that Russia may be trying to blur the lines between the two organisations in order to defuse some tensions that have arisen in the CSTO, with Armenia accusing some of the member states of not acting like good allies, whilst non member of Azerbaijan has been flirting with the idea of joining the CSTO, something which Armenia has promised to veto. It could also be that this was a one-off justified by the theme of the discussions of the meeting. The CSTO was not present at the 5th meeting of the CIS Security Council heads in 2017 (see picture below)

It should be noted that out of the 15 former Soviet republics, five - the three Baltic States, Georgia and Ukraine are not members of either the CIS or the CSTO.

See also related content: Belarus to sell more arms to Azerbaijan

source: commonspace.eu

photo: Participants at the meeting of the heads of the Security Councils of the CIS member states: the head of the presidential administration of Azerbaijan Ramiz Mehdiyev, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Stanislav Zas, Assistant to the President - Secretary of the Security Council of Kazakhstan Gabit Bayzhanov, Secretary of the Security Council of Kyrgyzstan Damir Sagynbayev, Advisor to the President of Moldova in the field of defense and national Security Secretary of the Supreme Security Council of Moldova Artur Gumenyuk, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation N. Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Tajikistan Abdurahim Kakharov, Secretary of the Security Council under the President From Uzbekistan Viktor Makhmudov. Also participating in the meeting is the Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee, Sergey Lebedev, acting president. CSTO Secretary General Valery Semerikov.

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.