MOSCOW, 15 June (BelTA) – A session of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was held in the form of a videoconference on 15 June, BelTA has learned.
Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Stanislav Zas informed the Council about the situation in the organization's responsibility area, about the measures designed to counteract challenges and threats to collective security, and about the ratification of international treaties signed within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization by the CSTO member states.
Stanislav Zas believes it is obviously necessary to consolidate international efforts to overcome the unprecedented challenge that the coronavirus pandemic represents. However, today's global situation is getting aggravated and the negative trends that existed before the pandemic are coming to the forefront. Stanislav Zas said he was talking about the dismantling of the international arms control system, the launch of a new arms race, and the deployment of NATO's military infrastructure closer to the Collective Security Treaty Organization's responsibility area. Intentions to deploy weapons in outer space were also mentioned. The dynamics of conflicts in the Middle East is still in place and is getting worse due to a new phase of USA-Iran confrontation. Tensions are being pumped up about the accusations China faces: some parties claim China withheld information about when the coronavirus infection broke out and how large it was. Some parties claim China intentionally provoked the pandemic in the USA and Europe.
In his speech Stanislav Zas pointed out that many countries ignore the appeal of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to cease fire in all conflicts due to the pandemic. According to Stanislav Zas, such actions clearly manifest the policy of rejecting the UN's role in maintaining universal peace and nullifying the role of the UN Security Council.
The CSTO secretary general evaluated regional security and its influence on the security of the CSTO member states. In his opinion, threats to stability in the territory south of the Central Asian collective security region are on the rise. “While we hear positive signals from Afghanistan regarding the achievement of political agreement between two leaders of the country and positive dynamics of the dialogue inside Afghanistan, various terrorist and extremist groups continue getting stronger. The fact continues to present an immediate threat to the security of the CSTO member states, which originates from Afghanistan. It is unclear how the situation will evolve once the American military operation over there is terminated,” Stanislav Zas noted.
NATO's Defender Europe 2020 exercise was launched in Eastern Europe near borders of the CSTO member states at the beginning of the year but was soon stopped due to the pandemic. It was NATO's largest military exercise near borders of Belarus and Russia in the last 25 years. “The policy of militarization of the region and the development of military infrastructure continues. Information aggressiveness on the part of certain Western countries is getting stronger,” the CSTO secretary general noted.
Speaking about the Caucasian collective security region, Stanislav Zas stated that despite the continued efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and despite regular contacts between the warring sides, it is too early to talk about progress. “It is obvious that it is necessary to push for a ceasefire along the contact line. It is necessary to try and resolve conflict matters via dialogue and mutual compromise,” the CSTO secretary general believes.
Stanislav Zas also informed the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization that seven joint military exercises of the CSTO collective forces are scheduled to take place in 2020. The intended set of measures designed to bolster the CSTO's ability to counteract challenges and threats will be implemented. A number of counterterrorism measures and terrorism prevention measures will be taken as well as measures designed to reduce tensions in the area near the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border.
Stanislav Zas mentioned the importance of enhancing the CSTO's peacemaking potential for the sake of using it under the UN's aegis. “We believe the development of the CSTO peacemaking forces for the sake of maintaining their ability to perform missions, including participation in peacemaking missions under the UN flag, to be central to peacekeeping efforts of the Collective Security Treaty Organization,” the CSTO secretary general noted.
