Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in a meeting of the Collective Security Council (CSC) of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which was attended the CSTO-member states’ leaders: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. The narrow-format meeting of heads of state was followed by an expanded meeting of country delegations. The CSC members discussed international and regional security agenda, issues of cooperation within the CSTO and in the international arena.

Given the fact that the CSTO chairmanship shall be handed over to the Kyrgyz Republic in 2018-2019, Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov presented his country’s priorities during the forthcoming presidency. A number of documents were adopted at the Summit, including the Declaration of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Statement of Heads of State of the Collective Security Treaty Organization on coordinated action against participants in armed conflicts on the side of international terrorist organizations.

The heads of state adopted a number of CSC decisions aimed at improving the system of responding to crisis situations within the CSTO, countering illegal migration, developing a coordinated information policy, addressing the composition of military units and collective forces. The meeting approved the candidacy of chairman of the Interstate Commission on Military Economic Cooperation.

Documents were adopted concerning the legal formulation of the status of a CSTO observer and partner state, which opens up new possibilities for the Organization’s cooperation with third countries at a qualitatively new level.

During the meeting, the appointment of the CSTO Secretary-General was discussed. The parties agreed to continue discussion on this issue at the December 6 meeting to be held in St. Petersburg. At the same time, work will be carried out on the development of appropriate standards governing the early termination of the powers of the Secretary-General.