CSTO to begin delivering military equipment to Tajikistan by year-end

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) plans to begin delivering military equipment and weapons to Tajikistan by the end of 2026 to strengthen its border with Afghanistan. CSTO Secretary General Talatbek Masadykov announced the plans at a press conference on October 21. According to Check-Point. kz , Masadykov said the first phase of the program had been completed, with Tajikistan selecting suppliers and agreeing on order volumes. “The second phase is now under way. I think that in autumn, before the end of this year, the first deliveries of equipment from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Belarus to Tajikistan will begin. This program also includes weaponry,” he said. The types and quantities of equipment to be supplied have not been disclosed. Masadykov stressed that the program posed “no threat whatsoever” to Afghanistan or its people.

It is scheduled to run until the end of 2029. In August, the CSTO secretary-general said a list of weapons and equipment needed to strengthen Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan had been drawn up under the interstate program, but he did not provide details. He described border security as a priority not only for Tajikistan but for all CSTO member states. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan had previously been identified as likely suppliers. Taliban deny threat to neighboring countries Commenting on plans to supply military equipment to the Tajik-Afghan border, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan posed no threat to neighboring countries and described security concerns raised in Central Asia as unfounded. He alleged that media outlets opposed to Afghanistan’s current government were providing the CSTO with false information and seeking to create tensions between Kabul and neighboring states. The CSTO…