According to the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the CSTO member-states are to support one of the member-states if it is faced with an external threat. But the Charter does not deal with cases of domestic instability or civil war inside a CSTO member-state, Stepan Grigoryan, Head of the Regional Analytic Center for Globalization, told NEWS.am.

“This is a case when the U.N. Security Council is the agency to apply to, as it is the U.N. that has the authority to render assistance, Afghanistan being a typical example. This considered, the CSTO’s decision is difficult to forecast. The interests of the CSTO member-states may clash, with the tense Kyrgyz-Uzbek relations considered. So we cannot say for sure that the CSTO will introduce troops into Kyrgyzstan. It is even difficult to forecast whether the troops, if introduced, will be the CSTO troops or only Russian troops,” said the expert.

Since Turkey has sent two planes to evacuate its citizens from Kyrgyzstan, can Ankara intensify its activity in Central Asia? “It is a possibility, but I do not think Turkey has the real potential for Central Asia. It is Russia, China and, to a certain degree, the U.S., that have real resources in Central Asia. Let us remember about two military bases in Kyrgyzstan – a Russian one and one owned by the United States,” Grigoryan said.