Special meeting of the Expert Advisory Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization on the theme “The Security Umbrella of Eurasian Integration”

The member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) face significant economic and foreign policy challenges, in part due to the aggressive policies pursued by Western countries. Improving legislation and enhancing the military potential of both the organization itself and individual member states can help shield Eurasian integration from external influences. This was the conclusion reached at the Special Meeting of the Expert Advisory Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization on the theme “The Security Umbrella of Eurasian Integration”. The event was held as part of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.

The Forum was organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

KEY CONCLUSIONS

Partnership between CSTO member states offers great potential

“All CSTO member states have effective emergency services. These countries’ firefighters and rescuers are competently going about the work they have been assigned. <...> EMERCOM of Russia has, over the course of 14 years of partnership, developed five recommendations for harmonizing the legislation of CSTO member states. These cover areas such as emergency response, the security of critical facilities, and cross-border cooperation during natural and man‑made emergencies,” Anatoly Suprunovsky, Deputy Minister for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters of the Russian Federation – Chief State Inspector of the Russian Federation for Fire Supervision.

“The CSTO is an observer in forums such as the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism. We are currently working on a pilot initiative in Russia, and will shortly be able to evaluate the effectiveness of enforcing our legal stipulations relating specifically to these issues. <...> It is crucial to understand best practices in employing legislation, and how it can form the basis for model legislation in member countries,” Anton Lisitsyn, Deputy Director, Federal Financial Monitoring Service.

Military and economic cooperation is a key area of focus for the CSTO

“The CSTO Charter [article 7 – ed.] states that one of its primary areas of focus is military and economic cooperation. The Military-Economic Commission has operated for 16 years now... developing standards and technical regulations, and facilitating cooperation within the defence industry. The CSTO Parliamentary Assembly is also drafting documents that should bring economic benefit as well. These concern cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union, the SCO, BRICS, the CIS, and so on,” Mikhail Krotov, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation – Deputy Executive Secretary of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly.

“The issue of electoral security is entering a new dimension. <...> We are also monitoring the military and political situation, with relevant documents to be adopted in the autumn. These will focus on monitoring the military and political situation in Central Asia,” Sergei Pospelov, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian Federation at the Collective Security Treaty Organization; Executive Secretary, CSTO Parliamentary Assembly.

PROBLEMS

The West’s destructive influence on CSTO countries

“Given the unprecedented pressure exerted by the West, the implementation of collective security principles among CSTO member states is of paramount importance. A critical aspect of ensuring such security is guarding against destructive foreign influence in various spheres of public life. This influence is exerted through the establishment and funding of non-profit organizations. In 2023 alone, the Americans injected 1.5 billion [USD – ed.] into non-profits. That’s quite a sum of money. Another tactic is the formation of controlled media and internet resources. Unfortunately, we are losing this battle on the international stage,” Oleg Sviridenko, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation.

“One aspect of foreign destructive influence are the sanctions which we see being imposed today. These sanctions are not imposed by international organizations, or even state bodies, but by various administrative institutions lacking legal authority. <...> Their aim is to influence the activities of government bodies, discredit them, and incite protests among the population,” Dmitriy Perevalov, Senior Researcher, Border Security Research Department, Research Unit of the Institute of Border Service of the Republic of Belarus State Institution, Expert Advisory Council member.

The potential for international conflict

“Sadly, we are currently witnessing... a deteriorating security situation. In Eurasia, the main risks are associated with the policies of the United States and its allies, who have abandoned the principle of indivisible security. That is to say, they link their security solely with their own and their allies’ safety. The situation in the region is also escalating. We see what is happening in the Middle East (particularly the Palestinian-Israeli conflict), as well as the accumulation of the potential for conflict in East Asia and other parts of Eurasia,” Viktor Vasilev, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian Federation in the CSTO, Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

“According to the joint headquarters and defence departments, the West continues to view the perimeter of our organization’s external borders as a staging ground for the targeted projection of conflict potential against Russia and its allies. The spread of terrorism and extremism also poses a significant threat,” Anatoliy Yakovlev, Head of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) Planning and Application Department – Deputy Head of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) Application and Training Planning Centre of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

“The challenges and threats are not only of relevance, but are already having an impact. <...> One of the threats is terrorism and extremism, which we have been combating for over 30 years,” Abdukhalil Davlatali Gafurzoda, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Parliamentary Assembly of the CSTO.

SOLUTIONS

Strengthening security-related cooperation among CSTO member states

“An alternative is dialogue among ourselves. If we strengthen fraternal and allied relations within our organization and speak to our opponents as a united entity, this will be our most significant possible contribution to establishing security. Potential matters. When adversaries see our formidable potential, they will come to the negotiating table,” Viktor Vasilev, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian Federation in the CSTO, Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

“In the immediate to medium term, our entire model legislative activity should be based on the challenges and threats facing the CSTO, both as a military and political bloc, and in terms of national security for each member state. <...> We must move away from adopting a defensive stance. This does not mean... that we must move to take the offence, but rather to a stage of proactive defence,” Artem Kolesnik, employee of the Research Centre of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, Expert Advisory Council member.

Improving legislation for CSTO member states

“It appears to me that within our structure, we need to ensure that the model laws and recommendations we adopt are recognized by ourselves and promoted on international platforms as internationally recognized customs. Regarding the fight against terrorism... we should move from a practice of cooperation on a mutual basis to one of universality and recognition of the universal nature of our legal provisions... for protecting and supporting victims of terrorist acts,” Aleksey Ageev, Head of the Legal Support Group of the Antiterrorist Center of the CIS Member States, Expert Advisory Council member.

“To further develop model legislation in the field of military security, it would appear advisable to involve relevant military management bodies and key educational and research organizations in the development, approval, and amendment of CSTO model laws and recommendations,” Anatoliy Yakovlev, Head of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) Planning and Application Department – Deputy Head of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) Application and Training Planning Centre of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

For more information, visit the Roscongress Foundation’s Information and Analytical System at roscongress.org/en

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