ST. PETERSBURG, 13 October (BelTA) - Belarus urges greater coordination between the member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in international organizations, chairman of the standing commission on international affairs and national security of the upper house of Belarusian Parliament Sergei Rakhmanov told the media after the meeting of the CSTO PA Council in St. Petersburg, BelTA has learned.
According to Sergei Rakhmanov, the CSTO PA discussed, among other things, the priorities of the organization as suggested by Belarus. “On the one hand, we will continue what we have already been doing within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. On the other hand, we offered some new positions that we believe are essential. Firstly, it is the strengthening of the economic dimension in the CSTO because security in the modern sense is not only about countering a direct military threat. It is also about economic and technological security,” the senator said.
In addition, Belarus drew attention to the information security, more effective promotion of the CSTO image in the international arena. “We do not always position ourselves as a one whole,” Sergei Rakhmanov said.
“In order to be more efficient we also need to reinforce the expert-analytical content: less protocol, more analysis and joint solutions. Thus, I think we will be stronger,” Sergei Rakhmanov noted.
Another proposal put forward by Belarus was about the interaction of the CSTO member states in international venues, in particular, regular sessions of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The senator noted that the CSTO countries have started working on this, which was noticeable during the 26th summer PA OSCE session in Minsk. “Yet we believe we need to increase the level of coordination and prepare for such events more effectively,” he noted.
