On the second day of his state visit to Astana, Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to participate in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit and address journalists.
The summit will bring together the leaders of CSTO member states, including the presidents of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan—Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Alexander Lukashenko, Sadyr Zhaparov, and Emomali Rahmon. In 2025, the CSTO chairmanship will transition from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan.
Armenian representatives will not be present at the summit. However, according to Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, Armenia pre-approved the documents to be signed at the event. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently stated that Armenia had "frozen" its participation in the CSTO due to perceived threats to its sovereignty from the organization. Despite this, Armenia has not formally decided to leave the CSTO.
Summit Agenda
The summit will address critical international and regional issues, focusing on rising threats to stability within the CSTO's area of responsibility and the surrounding regions. Leaders are expected to discuss building a new framework for equal and indivisible security in Eurasia. Additionally, they will review the organization's progress since the last summit in Minsk in November 2023 and outline future priorities. Topics for discussion include enhancing multidimensional cooperation within the CSTO.
The summit will consist of two sessions—one in a narrow format involving only CSTO heads of state to address security concerns, followed by informal discussions, which Ushakov described as the "most engaging part." The expanded session will focus on Kyrgyzstan's priorities as the upcoming chair and the signing of CSTO documents.
Before departing Astana, Putin will hold a press briefing summarizing his two-day visit. The first day featured Russian-Kazakhstani talks.
Press interactions at the conclusion of international visits have become a regular practice for Putin. Over the past year, he has answered journalists' questions following trips to Belarus, Vietnam, North Korea, China, and Uzbekistan, as well as his previous visit to Kazakhstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in July 2024.
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Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS