The five permanent members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)—Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan—concluded their important summit Nov. 28 in Astana, Kazakhstan. Missing was Armenia which suspended its membership earlier this year, dissatisfied with the group’s response to its security concerns. Aside from the heads of state of the five member nations, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Independent States Sergei Lebedev and the Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Zhang Ming were invited to attend the expanded format meeting of the CSTO’s Collective Security Council, as reported by the website of the President of Russia. The meeting of the CSTO’s Collective Security Council was hosted by Chairman Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
As a special guest of President Tokayev, President Vladimir Putin played a prominent role in the proceedings. Putin and Tokayev issued a joint press statement, and President Putin had a lengthy session answering questions from media in addition to his remarks at the closed format section of the meeting. At the end of his visit, he declared it to have been a big success and “very positive.” The host country, he told reporters, is more than just a trusted ally of Russia. “It’s very important that Kazakhstan is effectively developing under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.” The two had extensive discussion about current and potential economic cooperation.
