Moscow, 11 November. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Moscow called for consolidating efforts against international terrorism and the illicit drug trade and for strengthening information security in view of the growing influence of artificial intelligence technologies, Akorda said.
Besides Tokayev, the summit was attended by the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, and Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, and CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov. The heads of state reviewed key aspects of cooperation, assessed the organisation's results for 2026 and set directions for the coming period. Tokayev thanked Putin for the warm welcome, noted the fruitful nature of Russia's chairmanship and congratulated Rahmon on Tajikistan's upcoming chairmanship, which begins on 1 January 2027.
A joint statement of the Collective Security Council was adopted and a number of documents on strengthening the collective security system were signed, the report says. The main points of the declaration, TASS reports: the countries called for preventing an arms race in space and launching talks on not placing weapons there, stressed the importance of keeping Central Asia free of nuclear weapons, decided to improve the crisis response system and expressed concern at foreign military infrastructure approaching their borders. The reports of Akorda and TASS do not say whether the CSTO Counter-Terrorism Strategy to 2030, which was planned for adoption, was signed.
The leaders decided to strip Armenia of its voting right because of arrears in dues, Peskov said; under the decision it also loses the right to nominate candidates for posts in the organisation. The CSTO secretary general said that expelling Armenia was not on the agenda. Yerevan has effectively suspended its participation in the CSTO, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said the country will not return to active work in the organisation for the next five years, Airpress recalled. The day before, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the issue would be discussed under Article 25 of the CSTO Charter: it allows stripping the vote if dues go unpaid for more than two years, the report shows.
What it means: The summit ended with a statement and a declaration, a decision on Armenia and the handover of the chairmanship to Tajikistan; Kazakhstan named the fight against terrorism and the drug trade and information security in the age of AI among its priorities.
What we know now: The participants, the topics of Tokayev's speech, five points of the declaration and the decision on Armenia have been named. The full text of the declaration and the statement, the list of documents signed, the fate of the Counter-Terrorism Strategy to 2030 and Yerevan's reaction to the decision have not.
Background: The CSTO unites six states, including Armenia, which has suspended its participation in the organisation, Life.ru notes. On the eve of the summit, foreign and defence ministers and security council secretaries approved a package of documents and agreed a draft agreement on the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, Time.kz reported. Kazakh deputies earlier ratified a protocol to the CSTO agreements that is meant to cut bureaucracy when moving troops, equipment and property across borders, Qumash.kz wrote.
