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13.06.2017

Lukashenko voices concerns over deteriorating military situation in CSTO area of responsibility

MINSK June (BelTA) – The military and political situation in the area of responsibility of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is deteriorating further, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with the defense ministers of the CSTO member states in Minsk on 13 June, BelTA has learned.

In his welcoming remarks, the head of state pointed out that the year 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Collective Security Treaty and the 15th anniversary of the Organization. “During all theses years, the military and political situation in the CSTO area of responsibility has never been stable. Today we are observing its further deterioration. You are well aware of the processes unfolding in the collective security regions. I believe that our opinions regarding the current status of threats in different security areas coincide,” Alexander Lukashenko noted.

In this context, Belarus stresses the importance of the effective operation of the CSTO's statutory bodies. The Belarusian leader said that he hopes that the meeting of the Defense Ministers Council in Minsk will contribute to the strengthening of the security of the member states.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that when assuming chairmanship of the Collective Security Council, Belarus suggested a number of initiatives, including military ones. The country put forward the idea to take measures to ensure practical implementation of the CSTO Collective Security Strategy, improve the crisis response system, and step up the cooperation in the military industry and technology. “The measures are dictated by the Organization's development course, and by our vision of how to solve the issues at hand. The issues of practical cooperation and stability in the regions come to the fore today. We need to understand that all the CSTO's activities aimed at ensuring security are interrelated. The unsettled issues in some practical areas inevitably cause a slow-down in the development of the whole mechanism,” Alexander Lukashenko emphasized.