From Border Conflicts to Economic Security: How the CSTO is Strengthening Its Position in Eurasia
A joint meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), Council of Defense Ministers (CDM), and Committee of Security Council Secretaries (CSCS) of the CSTO, as well as a session of the Collective Security Council (CSC), will be held in Bishkek on November 27.
The meeting intends to address key regional security issues and approve the candidacy of the Secretary-General of the Organization for the next three-year term. Ahead of the summit, directors of RAS institutes presented analytical materials assessing the CSTO's performance over the past three years and defining strategic guidelines for the future.
Kirill Babayev, Director of the Institute of China and Modern Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences, analyzed the CSTO's activities in 2023-2025 in his article. The author noted the Organization's successes in resolving the Kyrgyz-Tajik border conflict, developing peacekeeping potential, and strengthening cooperation with the UN. He paid particular attention to the role of Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov in maintaining the unity of the CSTO amid geopolitical turbulence.
In turn, Mikhail Golovnin, Director of the Institute of Economics at the Russian Academy of Sciences, examined the economic aspects of security. The expert noted the growing importance of the CSTO countries for Russia amid sanctions pressure. Thus, between 2021 and 2024, the CIS's share of Russian exports increased from 11.3% to 16.4%. He identified the development of transport corridors and the protection of critical infrastructure from new threats as key tasks.
"The most significant threat could be processes aimed at ousting Russian businesses from the CSTO market," Golovnin noted.
In his publication, Alexey Kuznetsov, Director of the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences at the Russian Academy of Sciences, defined the CSTO as the foundation of Eurasian integration. In particular, the scholar highlighted the transformation of the Secretariat into a functional and operational center and the strengthening of interaction with the SCO and the CIS. At the same time, he emphasized the importance of the civil-expert agenda and the Organization's adaptation to new challenges, including cyber threats.
"The security that the CSTO can provide will be a significant condition for progress in economic integration," he concluded.