Kazakhstan, Astana, Aug. 12 / Trend A. Maratov /
The fifth informal summit of the heads of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member-states has launched its activity in Astana.
The heads of the CSTO member-states will discuss urgent problems with the international situation, including the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the CSTO responsibility zone. Increasing the efficiency of the organization's activity as a whole is also planned to be considered.
CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha has recently called the situation in Afghanistan, responding to natural and manmade emergency situations as the main topics of the summit.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was the only one who has arrived at an informal meeting in a tie. This attracted President Nazarbayev's attention. Medvedev laughed and took off his tie after handshakes as a sign of the friendly atmosphere at the meeting.
CSTO is a military-political alliance, uniting seven CIS countries Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Armenia.
All heads of member-states, except for Uzbek President Islam Karimov attend the summit.