MINSK, 23 August (BelTA) – It is necessary to further reinforce the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement at an extraordinary session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on 23 August, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Terrorism is directly connected to the risks of transboundary crimes, illegal turnover of narcotics and weapons, which seemingly will grow. The president of Tajikistan mentioned it. Taking into account the certain transparency of borders between our countries, this matter is also seriously concerning for us. In this context it is necessary to pay attention to practical measures meant to further reinforce the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border. It is what we should do without fault as the top priority.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko believes it is advisable to stage off-schedule interstate operations Kanal (fight against drugs trafficking) and Nelegal (counteraction of illegal migration) within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. “We've done it in the past and very effectively. The practice has been accumulated,” he said.
During the forthcoming Collective Security Treaty Organization exercises Vzaimodeistviye 2021 [Interaction], Poisk 2021 [Search], Eshelon 2021 [Echelon], which are scheduled to take place in Tajikistan on 18-23 October, it will be necessary to practice the counteraction of current threats from the direction of Afghanistan. “We are not going to blackmail Afghanistan, the current authorities, the Talibs. No, we are simply building defenses of our CSTO borders just in case,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
