MOSCOW, 15 September (BelTA) – A joint session of the Foreign Ministers Council, the Defense Ministers Council, and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states took place in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 15 September. Participants of the session discussed the military political situation in the CSTO responsibility area, CSTO Press Secretary Vladimir Zainetdinov told BelTA.
Participants of the session discussed and approved the agenda of the forthcoming session of the CSTO Collective Security Council, which is scheduled to take place on 16 September. The military political situation in the CSTO's collective security regions was discussed in detail as well as its influence on the security of the member states and the organization's work in between sessions.
As a result of the session Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Stanislav Zas noted that the situation along virtually the entire perimeter of the CSTO borders remains complicated. The situation in Afghanistan is particularly concerning. Participants of the joint session discussed the state of affairs at the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border among other things. “Today the situation over there is unfavorable but the Tajik border service and law enforcement bodies fully control the country's borders,” Stanislav Zas said. “This is why all the CSTO member states are united in the opinion and once again reaffirm the common stance: if the situation on the CSTO's southern borders gets aggravated, Tajikistan will receive all the military aid and military technology aid it needs. Tomorrow the Collective Security Council will discuss the relevant proposals on preventing possible threats from Afghanistan in detail. The proposals were worked out by an extraordinary videoconference session of the CSTO Collective Security Council on 23 August.”
Stanislav Zas said that the coordination of foreign policy matters of the CSTO member states had been discussed thoroughly. “The adoption of joint statements is one of the most important tools for such coordination. Five such statements were passed during the current joint session of the Foreign Ministers Council, the Defense Ministers Council, and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the CSTO member states. A joint statement on the situation in Afghanistan was passed by the CSTO member states. Four statements were passed by the CSTO foreign ministers: on reaffirming the adherence to principles of the UN Charter and on reinforcing cooperation to ensure their strict observance, a statement on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the 20th anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a statement on collective efforts to resolve crisis situations in the Middle East and North Africa, and a statement on the coordination of joint efforts in the sphere of information security, including the counteraction of usage of information and communication technologies for terrorist purposes and other criminal purposes.”
Stanislav Zas also mentioned that taking into account the modern reality in the sphere of biological security the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the CSTO member states had passed a decision on the coordinating council on biological security of authorized agencies of the CSTO member states. The document was signed taking into account the need to enable practical conditions for consolidating efforts of the biological security agencies of the CSTO member states.
Apart from that, a large package of documents was signed concerning personnel training for the CSTO armies. A plan on improving the joint military personnel training system for the period till 2025 was approved. The CSTO Defense Ministers Council approved the composition of the working group tasked with coordinating the joint training of military personnel and scientific work. The CSTO Defense Ministers Council signed resolutions on assigning the status of a basic educational and methodological organization for medical support of the CSTO member states' armies and the CSTO collective forces and for training military personnel in medical and pharmaceutical professions to the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy of the Russian Defense Ministry.
Since Armenia is taking over the CSTO presidency in 2021-2022, the Armenian delegation informed those present about the country's priorities during the presidency. The next sessions of the Foreign Ministers Council, the Defense Ministers Council, and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states will take place in Armenia in H1 2022.
