The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) aims to expand participation in peacekeeping initiatives beyond its scope of responsibility, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov told TASS, the latter reported.

"The organization traditionally pays special attention to peacekeeping. Let me remind that the CSTO peacekeeping forces demonstrated themselves successfully in January 2022 [in Kazakhstan]. However, the CSTO aims to expand participation in peacekeeping initiatives beyond the scope of the organization's responsibility," he said.

Tasmagambetov, in particular, emphasized that the expansion of peacekeeping activities is impossible without close cooperation with prestigious international organizations, such as the United Nations.

"At this moment, administrative, legal, and organizational conditions are being actively formed to integrate the CSTO's collective peacekeeping potential into the UN's peacekeeping activities," noted Tasmagambetov. “Thus, the Republic of Kazakhstan participates in UN peacekeeping operations in Western Sahara, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Lebanon. And we plan to expand the formats of interaction."

According to the CSTO Secretary General, an important step towards expanding relations with the UN in this domain was the introduction of the "coordinating state" institution, which is authorized to act on behalf of the CSTO member states in communications with the UN Secretariat.

Tasmagambetov recalled that in September 2023, the representatives of the CSTO countries held a meeting in Moscow on the agenda of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, where the prospects of connecting the organization's potential with UN peacekeeping activities were discussed, and then the parties noted the importance of CSTO's effective participation in global peacekeeping efforts.

To note, Armenia also is a member in the Collective Security Treaty Organization.