CSTO binds Russia with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It is one of the organizations that are part of the To Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), used by Moscow, according to Associated Press, to maintain its influence in the post-Soviet territories.
During the Friday CSTO summit in Minsk, also an Eurasian Economic Community leaders’ meeting took place. The members are Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. The participants concentrated on creating customs union.
The efforts, in this matter, did not bring spectacular effects, because of differences in potentials and level of development of the national economies as well as because of the fear against Russian domination.
During both meetings, there were shifts in the presidency: Putin stepped aside in CSTO and gave power to the Belarusian president Alaxandr Lukashenka who, in return, gave the Putin presidency in the Eurasian Economic Community.
