MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. The Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is actively working to develop the CSTO’s military component in 2026 and ensure the readiness of the Collective Forces for their intended missions, Vladislav Shchegrikovich, press secretary of the organization’s Joint Staff, told TASS.

The press secretary recalled that April 28 marks the founding of the CSTO Joint Staff. Twenty-three years ago, on April 28, 2003, in Dushanbe, the Collective Security Council adopted the resolution "On the establishment of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization."

"Today, the heads of state have assigned the CSTO Joint Staff, headed by Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov, with tasks related to coalition military development and joint operational and combat training of CSTO troop components (Collective Forces), military-technical cooperation, coordination of joint training of personnel and specialists for the member states’ armed forces, and running the CSTO Crisis Response Center," Shchegrikovich noted.

CSTO Joint Staff Chief Andrey Serdyukov, congratulating the multinational team, noted: "In 2026, the Joint Staff, together with the defense ministries, is actively working on the fulfilment of the Action Plan for the implementation of the decisions of the November 2025 session of the Collective Security Council and the priority areas of CSTO activity during the Russian Federation’s presidency focusing primarily on developing the military component of the organization and ensuring the Collective Forces’ readiness to perform their intended missions."

Shchegrikovich said that as part of the coalition’s military development, the Joint Staff, together with interested ministries and agencies of the CSTO member states, is paying close attention to the development of all components of the Collective Forces. "Under the organizational and coordinating role of the Joint Staff, the Collective Rapid Reaction Force, the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region, the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces, the Collective Air Forces, and the CSTO’s joint NBC protection and medical support unit are being further developed," he added.

Legal framework and crisis response

Shchegrikovich noted that over more than two decades, with the participation of Joint Staff officers, the necessary legal framework governing the organization’s activities has been developed and is being continuously improved. "To date, 64 international treaties have been concluded on the most fundamental issues of interstate cooperation in the sphere of collective security, and about 2,000 documents have been signed at the level of heads of state, secretaries of security councils, and heads of key ministries—defense and foreign affairs—of the organization’s member states," he noted.

"In the current context of growing challenges and threats to collective security, the Joint Staff, as a crucial element of the CSTO collective security system, continues to ensure the organization’s readiness to adequately and effectively respond to potential crises, address the challenges of developing the CSTO troops (Collective Forces), and ensuring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the organization’s member states," the press secretary concluded.