MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday begins his two-day visit to Tajikistan that will host the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
The summit of the CSTO, comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, will focus on response to the increased activity of terrorist and extremist groups.
Putin is scheduled to attend an informal dinner of the CSTO leaders in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe on Monday, and the main program of the summit is due to begin on Tuesday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Situation in Tajikistan
The events in Tajikistan will be held amid the anti-terrorist operation launched on September 4 against a group of former Deputy Defence Minister Abdukhalim Nazarzoda.
Tajikistan’s authorities assured Friday that "everything is calm now and no signs of special character" will be seen in Dushanbe, Ushakov said.
The country’s state committee for national security said unprecedented measures have been taken to protect the summit participants. All the roads to Dushanbe as well as strategic facilities and public buildings hosting the delegations are under control, it said.
Putin’s meeting with Tajik president
After the informal dinner, Putin is expected to hold a separate meeting with Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon. The leaders of Russia and Tajikistan spoke over the phone on September 5. According to Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, during the conversation the Russian president described developments in Tajikistan as an attempt to destabilize the situation and assured him of Russia’s support of Tajikistan’s leadership.
According to Ushakov, the talks will discuss the issues of further strengthening multi-faceted mutually beneficial cooperation in the sphere of defence and national economy.
Putin is also scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev on the sidelines of the summit.
CSTO summit agenda
On Tuesday, Dushanbe will hold a meeting of the foreign ministers’ council, defence ministers’ council and the committee of secretaries of defense councils. The key program of the session of the CSTO council on Tuesday envisages a meeting of the leaders in the narrow and broad formats, signing joint documents, and a reception given by the summit host.
The council will discuss the CSTO activity and also major regional and global issues that affect the member-states’ security, Ushakov said. "Of course, top priority will be given to the increased activity of terrorist and extremist groups, and the situation in general along the CSTO countries’ borders," he stressed.
More than 10 joint documents are due to be signed at the summit, including the leaders’ statement on key approaches to the current international agenda, namely new challenges and threats.
The sides will also decide on the election of the secretary general and the head of the united headquarters of the CSTO. The issue whether Nikolay Bordyuzha may be re-elected as the organization’s chief will be discussed behind the closed doors, Ushakov said.
After the summit, Armenia will take over the one-year presidency in the CSTO.
The Collective Security Treaty was signed in 1992 and the Collective Security Treaty Organization was established ten years later. The organization’s top priorities are "strengthening of peace, international and regional security and stability, protection of independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of its member states."