Belarusian official to step down as CSTO secretary general, Belarus to chair CSTO in 2023

November 24, BPN. Stanisłaŭ Zaś, secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will leave his post at the end of his three-year term, the CSTO Collective Security Council (CSC) announced in Armenia’s Yerevan.

Imangali Tasmagambetov, former Kazakh defense minister who served as ambassador to Russia, will take over as new CSTO secretary general on January 1.

At the same time, Belarus will take over the CSTO presidency from Armenia in 2023.

On November 1, Zaś suggested at his meeting with Alaksandr Łukašenka that the next CSTO secretary general should have an extended mandate, noting that “three years is a short term.”

Prior to joining the CSTO, Zaś served as state secretary of the Belarusian Security Council.

The Russian-led security alliance includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.