The statement also highlights that the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev, Sadir Zhaparov and Emomalí Rakhmon, respectively, will also attend the session of the CSTO Council, which will be held at the Independence Palace in Minsk.

Only the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinian, will be absent from the summit.

The Kremlin announced that the agenda of the CSTO Council meeting will include issues of interaction between its members, including improving the collective security system, as well as current international and regional issues.

On the eve of the Summit, Putin discussed security items with the president of Tajikistan, who made an official visit to Moscow.

Minsk previously hosted a joint meeting of foreign ministers, defense ministers and secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO member countries to discuss changes in the military-political situation in the region.

The CSTO Summit in Minsk will occur amid deteriorating relations between the organization and Armenia, as Pashinyan previously accused the entity of not helping the country during clashes with Azerbaijan in May 2021 and September 2022.

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