MOSCOW, 17 November (BelTA) – The level of military threat to the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states is not going down. Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Stanislav Zas pointed it out at the ninth meeting of secretaries of the security councils of the CIS member states in Moscow on 17 November, BelTA has learned.
According to Stanislav Zas, the level of threat is not going down. The growing presence of military contingents of NATO member states, the development of their military infrastructure, and more vigorous military activities near western borders of the CSTO states are among the factors pointing to it.
Stanislav Zas said that trilateral agreements stipulated by the statement of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia on 9 November 2020 allowed stopping the bloodshed in Nagorno-Karabakh. However, despite steps being taken there is still tension along the Armenia-Azerbaijan contact line. The situation in Central Asia remains complicated, tense, and hardly predictable after the government in Afghanistan was replaced.
The economy and the social sphere are likely to completely crash down in Afghanistan soon. The event will be followed by a humanitarian catastrophe and may be followed by a stronger domestic armed standoff, an increase in operations of terrorist organizations, and the expansion of illegal drug production. All of it will undoubtedly affect the security of all countries in the region, the CSTO secretary general stressed.
Stanislav Zas remarked that threats originating from Afghanistan, biosecurity, illegal migration, and the use of information technologies for criminal ends on today's agenda are extremely important and of current interest for the Collective Security Treaty Organization, too.
Stanislav Zas reminded that at a session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Dushanbe on 16 September the CSTO heads of state praised the operation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. They noted the need to step up interaction between the CSTO and the CIS in the sphere of security and the need to enable favorable conditions for the comprehensive development of countries and nations. The idea was backed by a statement of the CSTO foreign ministers on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the 20th anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on 15 September. Stanislav Zas said: “I would like to assure you that in turn, the Collective Security Treaty Organization is ready to advance comprehensive cooperation with the Commonwealth of Independent States and its relevant agencies in matters concerning the counteraction of modern challenges and threats to security of our countries.”
