A. Lukashenko: CSTO is capable of significantly increasing the effectiveness of ensuring regional security

On May 31, Minsk /BelTA correspondent/. The Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) can significantly enhance its international authority and its significance as a regional structure effectively supporting security in the post-Soviet space. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated this on May 31 at a meeting with heads of delegations participating in the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CSTO member states, BelTA was informed by the press service of the Belarusian leader. Alexander Lukashenko is convinced that strengthening the organisation meets the interests of all member states without exception. Belarus, as the chairperson of the CSTO, strives to contribute to this process. The initiatives put forward by the country at the past session of the Collective Security Council are aimed precisely at this. "The areas of activity proposed by us are requirements of the current geopolitical situation, not an invention of Belarus," stressed the head of the Belarusian state. The President expects that the work on implementing the Belarusian proposals together with the organisation's partners will be coordinated and fruitful, serving the benefit of the countries. According to Alexander Lukashenko, the situation in North Africa and the Middle East, and other hotspots, eloquently testifies to the importance of the regional security format. "Instability in one state can cause an escalation of tension and destabilisation in neighbouring countries. The lack of coordinated policy and a clearly structured system of collective security, to our great regret, often leads to catastrophic consequences," noted the Belarusian leader. Alexander Lukashenko believes that in these conditions, the coordination of actions of member states in the international arena becomes particularly important. "It is the foreign ministers who should play a key role in bringing positions closer, developing common approaches and defending common interests," said the head of the Belarusian state. He expressed confidence that through the joint efforts of the CSTO member states, it will be possible to achieve a qualitative leap in ensuring security in the post-Soviet space. According to Alexander Lukashenko, this requires political will, mutual trust, and a readiness to make certain compromises for the sake of uniting forces. "I am convinced that all these components are present in the CSTO member states," he stressed.

Alexander Lukashenko once again noted that "the initiatives, which may seem very sharply put forward at first glance, are not Belarus's invention, but rather everything that has become a pressing concern." "Someone had to put these issues at the forefront if we believe that this organization has not only come into being but also has prospects for its development," said the Belarusian leader. The President emphasized that he intends to strongly urge the consideration of Belarusian initiatives in order to carry out concrete work on them further, so that it is not done in vain and "initiatives are not put forward for the sake of initiatives." Speaking about the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CSTO, Alexander Lukashenko expressed confidence that it should serve to solve pressing tasks and further develop cooperation between the CSTO member states in the most important spheres of life. The President pointed out the need for CSTO participating states to strengthen mutual support in the international arena. This will also serve to strengthen the organization as an effective international institution. During the meeting, the head of the Belarusian state informed the heads of delegations in detail about the state of affairs in the country, the economic situation, and the authorities' actions to stabilize the situation. In turn, CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha acquainted the President of Belarus with the details of the meeting and the decisions adopted as a result. According to Nikolay Bordyuzha, a large number of issues were considered. "We proceed from the fact that today the main task is not the creation of a regulatory framework or the preparation of further documents, but the fine-tuning of existing mechanisms and the implementation of practical cooperation," he said. The agenda items concerned the assessment of the situation, the trends in the development of the situation, taking into account the processes occurring in the Middle East, North Africa, and in the CSTO states. In addition, the topic of foreign policy coordination was discussed. According to Nikolay Bordyuzha, this work is quite well-tuned, but for many reasons, the desired results are not always achieved. The meeting also addressed work to counter modern challenges and threats. CSTO member states have achieved good results in preventing illegal migration, drug trafficking, in information security, and coordination in the field of emergency response.

As noted by Nikolai Bordyuzha, special attention was paid to issues related to the implementation of initiatives voiced by Belarus at the Moscow session in December 2010, such as peacekeeping and the institution of partnership. The Secretary General of the CSTO stated that much has been done regarding peacekeeping activities, and consultations have been held at the UN. As for the institution of partnership, according to Nikolai Bordyuzha, such work is already underway in practice.

Speaking about crisis response mechanisms, Nikolai Bordyuzha said that a number of problems have been identified during their development. In particular, this concerns the work of the monitoring group, the processing of urgent documents in the presidential administrations, the urgent convening of a session of the Collective Security Council, and the need to discuss crisis situations, for example, through the creation of video conferences.

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