MINSK, 17 February (BelTA) - Belarus stands for the development of practical cooperation between the CSTO and specialized structures of the United Nations in maintaining international peace and security, Belarus' representative to the UN Valentin Rybakov said during a debate on cooperation between the UN and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), BelTA has learned.
According to Valentin Rybakov, the CSTO has passed a considerable and very difficult way of transformation - from the defensive alliance to the multifunctional security organization, possessing real tools and collective mechanisms to deal with a wide range of contemporary challenges and threats. “We view the development of cooperation between our two organizations in areas of mutual interest as a natural and logical process,” the diplomat said.
As part of its work on peacekeeping and security, a separate focus of the organization's work is aimed at the situation in Afghanistan, which directly borders on the CSTO's external borders. “Belarus will support CSTO partners' initiatives on the UN platform to promote security in Afghanistan and border regions and neutralize challenges and threats associated with terrorism and extremism. In this context, the establishment of systemic interaction between the CSTO Secretariat and the UN Counter-Terrorism Directorate takes on special significance. There is a basis for this in the form of the corresponding memorandum of 9 November 2018,” Valentin Rybakov said.
According to him, peacekeeping is a promising area of cooperation: “Belarus which initiated cooperation between the CSTO and the UN in this area in 2011, attaches more importance to the ongoing dialogue between the two organizations on the topic.”
The Belarusian diplomat said that the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces were first deployed in Kazakhstan in January 2022 on the basis of an appeal of that country's president and in full compliance with the UN Charter and the Collective Security Treaty. The member states of the organization and international experts, including representatives of the UN, praised the timeliness and promptness of the decisions taken to conduct the peacekeeping operation.
As Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the recent extraordinary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council, the actions of the collective forces made it possible to disrupt the plans of those who ordered and executed the conflict in the country and to normalize the situation, as well as to demonstrate the organization's capabilities and potential.
“The CSTO's high potential in peacekeeping could be extremely useful for the UN peacekeeping system, where there is a great shortage of specialists, equipment and infrastructure. We think that sending mobile hospitals, military medics or demining detachments, as well as equipment and infrastructure could be a possible form of CSTO participation in UN peacekeeping within the framework of Security Council mandates,” Valentin Rybakov said.
According to him, it is also possible to think about other areas of joint work, not directly related to the activities of the UN Security Council, but important in terms of preventive diplomacy. “International information security is quite a relevant topic given the sharp increase in the frequency of information and communication technology incidents, which are not only becoming increasingly destabilizing and diverse, but also significantly undermine trust between countries,” the diplomat said.
He also confirmed the readiness of Belarus as a candidate country for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council for 2024-2025 to contribute to all joint initiatives of the UN and the CSTO for the benefit of international peace and security.
