COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY ORGANIZATION – INTERNATIONAL
News: Armenian
PM critical of Moscow-dominated security pact
What's in the news?
● Armenia's
Prime Minister accused a Moscow-dominated security alliance of leaving his
country in the cold in the face of a threat of renewed hostilities with
neighbouring Azerbaijan.
Key takeaways:
● Russia,
which has sought to preserve strong ties with its ally Armenia while also
maintaining friendly relations with energy-rich Azerbaijan, has engaged in a
delicate diplomatic balancing act, avoiding any forceful action.
Collective Security Treaty Organization:
● The
Collective Security Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance that was signed in 1992. The
treaty came into force in 1994.
● It
was signed by six countries:
Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Subsequently, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus joined it.
Features:
● The
CST was set to last for a 5-year period unless extended.
● In
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.
● It
was decided to transform the CST into a full international organization, the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at the Moscow session of the Collective Security Treaty in 2002.
Current Members:
● Armenia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Belarus
are the current full member countries of CSTO.
● Serbia and Afghanistan have been accorded
observer status in the CSTO.