MINSK, 15 September (BelTA) – The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense Ministers and Security Council Secretaries of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) considered a number of issues aimed at improving collective security and further development of the organization at a joint meeting in Dushanbe on 15 September, BelTA learned from the State Secretariat of the Security Council of Belarus.
A delegation of the State Secretariat of the Security Council of Belarus, headed by Aleksandr Volfovich, took part in the meeting.
The participants of the meeting addressed a great number of issues covering the entire range of challenges and threats in the CSTO's collective security regions. The parties shared views on the issues related to new risks emerging in the organization's area of responsibility.
One of the key issues of the meeting was the situation in Afghanistan and the strengthening of the CSTO southern borders.
The participants of the meeting signed more than 20 documents on the development and improvement of the legal framework, military and military-economic cooperation among member states, and financial and economic support for the organization's activities. A number of documents have been approved, including the draft final declaration of the CSTO Collective Security Council to be considered and signed at the meeting of the heads of state in Dushanbe on 16 September. The situation in Afghanistan will also be considered at a joint meeting of the CSTO and SCO heads of state in Dushanbe on 17 September.
This meeting is a new format of interaction between the two international organizations, created at the initiative of the Belarusian head of state and unanimously supported by the CSTO allies.
Moreover, on the sidelines of the Dushanbe forum, the state secretary of the Security Council of Belarus is expected to discuss with his counterparts from the CSTO member states the state of bilateral cooperation between the security councils and other urgent issues related to the coordination of interaction between the security agencies of the member states.
