CSTO appoints new Secretary General at the annual summit in Armenia

Asia-Pacific, Europe, News November 24, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Kazakhstan’s Imangali Tasmagambetov has been announced as the Secretary-General for the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) military alliance. He will begin his three-year term on January 1, 2023.

The announcement regarding the Secretary General came during the CSTO summit that is taking place in Armenia’s capital Yerevan.

The meeting of the Russia-led alliance saw leaders of its member states, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, arrived in Yerevan on November 23, 2022. Earlier this month, President Putin excused himself from attending the G20 Summit in Indonesia and the APEC meeting in Thailand stating his busy schedule.

Along with the Russian leader, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is hosting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, and President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.

Leaders of CSTO states agreed to appoint Tasmagambetov as the new Secretary General of the organization. Tasmagambetov is a Kazakh politician and diplomat. He was nominated as the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan by President Nursultan Nazarbayev and won unanimously by the parliament. Previously Tasmagambetov also served as the country’s Minister of Defense and Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Russia.

*^{Russia-led military alliance Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) troops. (Image Credit: AFP)}*

Putin-Pashinyan meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the CSTO Summit. The leader of Armenia vented his frustration at the failure of a Russian-led security alliance to come to his country’s aid in the face of what he called aggression by Azerbaijan.

During his speech at the CSTO Summit, Prime Minister Pashinyan also called into question the effectiveness of the six-nation Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).

“It is depressing that Armenia’s membership in the CSTO did not deter Azerbaijan from aggressive actions,” Pashinyan told the meeting in Yerevan. “Right up to today we have not managed to reach a decision on a CSTO response to Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia. These facts do grave harm to the image of the CSTO both inside our country and outside its borders, and I consider this the main failure of Armenia’s chairmanship of the CSTO.”

He called on his fellow leaders for ignoring Armenia’s direct request for assistance from the organization in September this year. Pashinyan contrasted that with the alliance’s rapid decision in January to send troops to another member state, Kazakhstan, to help President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev survive a wave of unrest.

*^{Russian President Vladimir Putin with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. (Image Credit: Kremlin)}*

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has resulted in hundreds of deaths. The latest episode of fighting happened on September 13 when more than 100 soldiers died from both sides. Russia was the first country to respond to the conflict and came forward to mediate between the two ex-Soviet republics.

A six-week fighting spree between the two countries in 2020 also claimed more than 6,500 lives, until a Russian-brokered truce ended the hostilities. Under the 2020 deal, Armenia ceded swathes of territory it had controlled for decades, and Russia stationed peacekeepers to oversee the fragile ceasefire.