A. Lukashenko: It is necessary to take further steps in developing military-political cooperation within the EAEU and the CSTO space
01/03/20120 views
On March 1, Minsk /BELTA correspondent/. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko advocates for the intensification of military-political cooperation between Belarus and Russia, and within the CSTO. The Belarusian head of state stated this on March 1 at a meeting with Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev, BELTA was informed by the press service of the Belarusian leader.
"We have created a Single Economic Space. Today, more than ever, both the positive and negative aspects of our military-political union, the CSTO, have become apparent, which nevertheless allow us to say that all CSTO members agree that the organization is developing in the right direction. Recently, it has gained even more dynamism," said the head of state, addressing Nikolai Patrushev. "And within this organization, we are taking concrete, very necessary steps for the states. From the perspective of the EAEU member states, this is a very important intensification."
According to Alexander Lukashenko, the significance and role of the CIS and its structures are also absolutely obvious. "Here too, we understand practically all issues and see this role, its significance, and the field in which this organization operates. This applies to other organizations as well, but especially to our union of Belarus and Russia," noted Alexander Lukashenko. "All problems have been resolved here," emphasized the President of Belarus, recalling that one of the latest steps was the approval of all regulatory legal acts for the creation of a Unified Regional Air Defense System of the two countries.
"We have made all the decisions. We need to take the next steps," stated the head of state. "I do not want to say that everything will be simple, but someone has to start somewhere (naturally, Belarus and Russia have to start). But where to begin a more radical advancement – we need to determine this. It makes sense to discuss those issues on which we can make significant progress."
"I think that Kazakhstan will also not stand aside. And therefore, other states, at least within the CSTO. I'm not even talking about the EAEU – we have close economic cooperation here, and, naturally, military-political issues cannot lag behind," noted Alexander Lukashenko.
The head of state emphasized the need to determine the path forward so as not to lag behind and not to "freeze" at the current level, as happened in the Union of Belarus and Russia: "People threw up their hands and asked: what will happen next? That is, we were late with initiatives at the time."
As Alexander Lukashenko noted, the election campaign in Russia will soon conclude. He also expressed confidence that it will be successful. "And we will probably be able to discuss these issues in March-April-May, given the very high continuity of power in Russia, without losing time," the President said.
In turn, Nikolai Patrushev noted that very interesting and substantive consultations were held between the security councils of the two countries, including on topics such as international and regional security, as well as security within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. "I think we heard each other, and these assessments will be useful for further joint work," he said.
Speaking about the foreign policy environment surrounding Belarus, the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia expressed the opinion that the policy of sanctions does not yield positive results. "The leaders of the European Union consider it possible to teach other states and peoples how they should live," said Nikolai Patrushev.
He noted that there are different regimes in Europe: monarchies, presidential, and parliamentary forms of government. "But no one says they are undemocratic. Why is the democracy of a country with a constitution questioned, why is it considered possible to impose sanctions or restrictions in one case or another? Does this lead to positive results, does it help peoples to communicate more closely? Nothing of the sort," Nikolai Patrushev is confident. "These decisions do not yield positive results. Positivity can only be achieved when negotiations take place, compromises are reached, and this policy is implemented through diplomatic methods. I think that in this case too, everything should return to normal precisely in this way." -0-
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