Cyber warfare named as one of threats to CSTO

MINSK, 8 June (BelTA) - CSTO countries are in the cyber firing line, and the destructive influence of information warfare will only grow, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with the secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO member states on 8 June, BelTA has learned.

According to the head of state, the information field has become a vulnerable element of the international security system. “You can see that even in Ukraine an information and psychological war is taking the first place,” he said.

The president emphasized the importance of counteracting information and psychological operations and offered to share Belarus' best practices in the area, adding that Belarus has been active cooperating with the Federal Security Service of Russia on the issue. “In order to fight back, we need to put forward our agenda,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

“CSTO countries are in the firing line of this pressure and dangerous information weapons, which have been always creating problems for us inside,” the Belarusian leader said.

He mentioned the recent events in Kyrgyzstan, where there was an attempt to stir up the situation inside the country, but the authorities stopped it in time. “Well done! They coped with it. They nipped it in the bud, and did not let it spread. They drew conclusions from history. Good job! I pay my respects to them.”

“You see, they are trying to stir up the situation... Leave Kyrgyzstan alone! The country is rising from its knees. Let the country develop. Who does it create problems for? Nobody. They continue their attempts to undermine the situation though. Do you think Kyrgyzstan has been chosen for no reason? No. They are using it to get to Kyrgyzstan again, like they are using Russia to get to China. Pay attention to this. They will not let Kazakhstan alone,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.