DUSHANBE, February 14. /TASS/. The Collective Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) will react within 12 hours in case Tajikistan faces a threat from Afghanistan, Chief of the Joint Staff of the CSTO Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov said at a press conference on Tuesday.
He pointed to the events that took place in Kazakhstan in January 2022. "In terms of timing, [the CSTO’s response time was] 12 hours, so we will be guided by that," he said in response to a TASS question. However, Sidorov emphasized the need to take measures to make sure that all situations are resolved peacefully.
The chief of the Joint Staff stressed that the CSTO would not allow provocations from Afghanistan against Tajikistan's territorial integrity. "I assure you that no one will ever abandon Tajikistan," Sidorov said. "The CSTO understands that Tajikistan is the organization’s southern flank where the situation is rather complicated and difficult. <...> We are ready to be tough and prevent any provocations against the territorial integrity of Tajikistan and other CSTO member states from the south," he added.
He emphasized the need to keep an eye on the situation along the Tajik-Afghan border as there were many forces, including in Afghanistan, that sought destabilization. "Our top priority is to prevent such actions from catching us off guard, " the Joint Staff chief said.
According to the CSTO, the number of members of the Afghan branch of the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) has reached 6,500, with up to 4,000 militants concentrated near Tajikistan’s border in the Afghan provinces of Badakhshan, Kunduz and Takhar.