MOSCOW, 27 April (BelTA) – Unconcealed attempts to destabilize the situation in Belarus from the outside have become a threat to the entire Collective Security Treaty Organization. Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Stanislav Zas made the statement after a session of the CSTO Defense Ministers Council in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 27 April, BelTA learned from CSTO Press Secretary Vladimir Zainetdinov.
Stanislav Zas said: “Unconcealed attempts to destabilize the domestic political situation in Belarus from the outside for the sake of illegally replacing the government in the country after the presidential election of 9 August 2020 have become a real threat to the security of not only the Republic of Belarus but the Collective Security Treaty Organization as a whole.”
The official stated that NATO continues building up its military potential in direct proximity to the borders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states. “High intensity of combat training of NATO joint armed forces remains in the Eastern Europe region,” he pointed out. “A series of exercises Defender Europe is supposed to take place this year in order to practice the provision of military aid to Eastern European allies. Large military contingents will be redeployed to western borders of the responsibility area of the CSTO member states as part of this event.”
Stanislav Zas remarked that the unresolved conflict in Ukraine's southeast remains a serious challenge to stability in the post-Soviet space. “All these negative trends undermine the foundations of strategic and regional stability and can lead to a sudden escalation of military threats to the collective security of the CSTO member states in the Eastern Europe region,” he stressed.
According to Stanislav Zas, the situation in the Central Asia collective security region depends a lot on the situation in neighboring Afghanistan were activities of international terrorist organizations are on the rise and the attention of the Talibs to northern parts of Afghanistan grows. If this territory remains in their grasp, drug smuggling will stay in place as a major channel used to finance extremists. This circumstance is alarming for the CSTO member states, Stanislav Zas noted.
Meanwhile, the situation in the Caucasus collective security region is stabilizing as a whole, Stanislav Zas stated. After a Russian peacemaking contingent was deployed in the area of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, conditions are steadily emerging to prevent a resumption of armed hostilities in the future. Mine clearance continues.
In the current conditions the Collective Security Treaty Organization takes planned measures to reduce the level of and neutralize potential threats. The development and enhancement of the readiness of the CSTO collective forces are high priorities, the secretary general noted. The CSTO defense ministers have approved a plan on the joint training of command and control bodies, forces and assets of the CSTO collective security system for the year 2022.
Stanislav Zas noted that the strategic exercise Boyevoye Bratstvo 2021 [Combat Brotherhood] is supposed to take place within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in October. As part of this strategic exercise the Vzaimodeistviye 2021 [Interaction] exercise for the CSTO collective rapid response forces, the special exercise for reconnaissance forces Poisk 2021 [Search], the special exercise for the CSTO logistics command Eshelon 2021 (Echelon) will be held in Tajikistan. The exercise Nerushimoye Bratstvo 2021 [Indestructible Brotherhood] for the CSTO peacekeeping forces will be held in Russia in November. Apart from that, the exercise Rubezh 2021 [Border] for collective rapid deployment forces of the Central Asia region will be held in Kyrgyzstan in September.
