YEREVAN, 23 November (BelTA) – It is necessary to enhance the analytical component of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement at a plenary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Yerevan, Armenia on 23 November, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded that at a meeting of the CSTO leaders in Moscow on 16 May he spoke about the importance of analysis and projections in the organization's work. “This is why we are going to focus on building up the institutional potential of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the sphere of information and analysis. We see it as a guarantee of quality enhancement of the organization and more effective response to emerging challenges and threats to security,” he said.
The president drew attention to the information and psychological operations that the West and primarily NATO focus heavily on in the course of the information war in Ukraine's territory. “We see it very well and take care of it. I think the Russian Federation does, too. We need to know how to do it in order to respond to their attacks. Because there are so many fakes over there starting with Bucha events and ending with recent events,” he said.
“Information and psychological operations are akin to military operations. We have to be ready for them,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
According to the president, the formation of a network of national analytical institutes for strategic studies in the member states will be a concrete practical contribution to the accomplishment of this task. “It will allow uniting the scientific and expert potential of our countries in the name of ensuring peace and security. We see it as an important tool for preparing conceptual and strategic documents on topical matters of international and regional security in our organization,” he noted.
Belarus suggests arranging a meeting of heads of national analytical institutes for strategic studies of the CSTO member states in Minsk in 2023 for the sake of organizing systemic work in this field. “We've already held several events of the kind together with Russia. By the way, upon Russia's initiative. And the expert community took it very well,” the president noted.
In his words, media positioning of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, including presence in foreign mass media, is an important component, too. “We believe that it is now necessary to not only step up information work but work out new approaches. I think Russia with its powerful mass media system should play the main role in it. Russia certainly has bigger capabilities,” the Belarusian leader noted.
