Collective Security Treaty Organization

The treaty had its origins to the Soviet Armed Forces, which was gradually replaced by the United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States (cf CIS, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan --- signed the Collective Security Treaty (also referred to as the “Tashkent Pact” or “Tashkent Treaty”). Three other post-Soviet states — Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Georgia— signed the next year and the treaty took effect in 1994. Five years later, six of the nine — all but Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan — agreed to renew the treaty for five more years, and in 2002 those six agreed to create the Collective Security Treaty Organization as a military alliance.

On 23 June 2006, Uzbekistan became a full participant in the CSTO; and its membership was ratified by the Uzbek parliament on 28 March 2008. However, it suspended its membership in 2012.

Signatories would not be able to join other military alliances or other groups of states. In order to deploy military bases of a third country in the territory of the CSTO member-states, it is necessary to obtain the official consent of all its members.

The CSTO holds yearly military command exercises. The largest of such exercises was held in Southern Russia and central Asia in 2011, consisting of more than 10,000 troops and 70 combat aircraft.