Overview
- The CSTO Collective Security Council met in Moscow on Wednesday and adopted an Anti‑Terrorism Strategy that runs through 2030.
- Leaders agreed to pursue upgrades to member states' air‑defense systems and to develop a CSTO Collective Air Forces to better counter cross‑border threats from Afghanistan.
- Russia will hand the organization's rotating presidency to Tajikistan for 2027, with President Emomali Rahmon expected to set his priorities for the year.
- Armenia has kept its participation effectively frozen since February 2024 and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said Yerevan's interest in the CSTO 'has run its course,' raising doubts about the bloc's mutual‑defence credibility.
- Belarus urged the CSTO to serve as the military backbone of a broader Eurasian Charter, a demand that, together with members' growing security ties to Turkey and others, highlights strains in the Russia‑dominated alliance.