Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 7
By Demir Azizov– Trend:
Uzbekistan will not restore its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the country’s Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov said.
He made the remarks July 7 during a direct dialogue with Uzbek citizens at the meeting of the International Press Club in Tashkent.
The issue of restoring Uzbekistan’s membership in the CSTO was not discussed during the state visit of the country’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Moscow in April 2017, he added.
Kamilov noted that Uzbekistan remains committed to the adopted foreign policy concept, which implies non-participation in military blocs.
CSTO is an intergovernmental military alliance. The Collective Security Treaty was signed in Tashkent on May 15, 1992 by the heads of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan left the CSTO in 1999, only to restore it back in 2006. In June 2012, Uzbekistan again suspended its participation in the CSTO.