MOSCOW, 2 February (BelTA) - The CSTO will take a well-thought and well-balanced approach to granting other countries the partner and observer statuses, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas said at an online press briefing on the military and political situation in and around the CSTO's area of responsibility, the CSTO's activities in 2020 and the goals for 2021, BelTA has learned.
According to Stanislav Zas, the CSTO has recently completed the ratification of documents that regulate the procedure to award the partner and observer statuses in the CSTO to other states and international organizations. “I would not raise the question and talk about developing any list [of countries-candidates for the observer and partner statuses]. It is not the list that matters. What is important is to step up interaction with the countries and organizations we have already been working with, taking into account the opportunities provided by the documents on observer and partner statuses in the CSTO. Our steps forward should cultivate good-neighborliness around our organization. These steps must be well-thought and well-balanced,” he said.
According to the CSTO secretary general, ministerial consultations are scheduled for March-April to discuss the issue. “We need to discuss and decide which states and organizations we will be working further with and how this work will proceed, including taking into account the new opportunities that these important documents give us. There are attractive things for our partners that will let us move forward and strengthen cooperation in solving the problems we face,” Stanislav Zas said.
