Senior officials from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the United Nations held high-level consultations to review the evolving security situation in Central Asia, with particular focus on the implications of developments in Afghanistan.
CSTO Under-Secretary-General Samat Ordabayev and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Central Asia Kaha Imanadze discussed the need for sustained monitoring of what was described as the “Afghanistan factor” and its impact on regional peace and stability.
According to an official statement, both sides emphasized the importance of preventive measures to counter emerging threats, alongside the continued expansion of institutional contacts between the CSTO Secretariat and the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia, as well as other specialized UN bodies.
The meeting also highlighted the need to strengthen cooperation in intelligence-sharing mechanisms, reflecting growing concerns over cross-border security risks.
Earlier, CSTO Joint Staff Chief Andrei Serdyukov had warned that multiple international extremist and terrorist groups remain active in Afghanistan, cautioning that their presence could facilitate the spread of terrorism into neighboring states.
Echoing similar concerns, Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia’s National Security Council, identified the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border as a key flashpoint, describing it as the primary zone of security challenges for CSTO member states.
The discussions reflect a broader regional consensus that instability in Afghanistan continues to pose a direct and evolving threat, necessitating coordinated monitoring, intelligence cooperation, and preventive security strategies.
