The situation in Afghanistan, as well as a wide range of international security problems and issues related to the activities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), was the subject of a joint meeting of foreign ministers, heads of defense ministries and secretaries of the councils of this association, which was held on Wednesday in the capital of Tajikistan.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, CSTO secretary-general Stanislav Zas stressed that the situation along almost the entire perimeter of CSTO borders remains difficult. According to him, he is especially concerned about the situation in Afghanistan. In this connection, participants of the meeting discussed the situation on the Tajik-Afghan border in view of the fact that the Taliban (banned in Russia), who came to power, now control all borders of the country and adopted a special statement. "All CSTO member states are united in their opinion and once again confirmed their common position. In case of aggravation of the situation on the southern borders of the CSTO, all the necessary military and diplomatic assistance will be rendered to Tajikistan", said Zas.
On the situation in Afghanistan
In their joint statement "On the situation in Afghanistan", the participants called on ethnic Afghan groups to "refrain from armed confrontation". "CSTO member states are in favor of a sustainable inter-Afghan peace process in the interests of the early formation of an inclusive government involving all social and ethno-political forces in the country, including representatives of national minorities, and the development of agreements on the final settlement of the multi-ethnic country," the document says.
At the same time, the association members will closely follow the development of the situation in Afghanistan, because they are concerned about the situation there and expect that Kabul's statements about the observance of basic rights and freedoms of all Afghan citizens, especially women, as well as media and civil society representatives, will be implemented in practice. In particular, this concerns the announced amnesty for former government officials, military personnel and all those who cooperated with foreign military presences.
At the same time, the member states of the CSTO oppose the placement on their territory of the military infrastructure of the USA and the other NATO countries, as well as the placement of the Afghan citizens who cooperated with the foreign military presences, "except for the cases which require an urgent solution for humanitarian purposes".
However, as stressed by the secretary-general of the organization Stanislav Zas, the CSTO countries are ready to use the available resources to ensure the security of their countries against threats emanating from the territory of Afghanistan. Against the backdrop of a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, the organization agreed to conduct operations to combat drug trafficking and counter illegal migration, as well as to strengthen the Tajik-Afghan border.
In particular, according to the press service of the Russian security council, it is planned to conduct special command and staff military exercises, a special anti-drug operation "Kanal" and the inter-state operation on combating illegal migration "Nelegal" on the southern borders of the CSTO. In addition, the countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation between competent bodies and special services in detecting and neutralizing extremist and terrorist cells.
Situation in the Middle East: a call for dialogue
The joint statement adopted at the end of the meeting also pays considerable attention to the situation in the Middle East and North Africa. The foreign ministers of the CSTO member states stressed the importance of establishing a dialogue between all states in the region "based on the principles of good neighborliness, non-use of force, non-interference in internal affairs" and "settlement of conflicts by exclusively political and diplomatic methods with reliance on international law and the UN Charter".
Thus, the CSTO members spoke in favor of preserving the ceasefire regime in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and called on the parties to work to reduce tensions. The statement stressed the need to reject unilateral steps, making it difficult to establish a Palestinian state with full sovereignty "within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, coexisting in peace and security with Israel".
The foreign ministers also noted that they were in favor of "full international assistance in advancing the political process in Libya under the leading role of the UN". They welcomed the formation of unified transitional authorities in Libya and expressed support for the Libyan leadership's commitment to hold general elections before the end of the year.
The ministers also supported the settlement process in Syria. The statement noted, in particular, that unilateral economic sanctions only exacerbate the suffering of the Syrian people, especially given the ongoing pandemic coronavirus infection. According to them, the Syrian conflict has no military solution, and therefore the support is confirmed for the Syrian-led political process with the assistance of the UN "in accordance with resolution 2254 of its Security Council".
The CSTO ministerial statement also calls for an early end to the internal political conflict in the Republic of Yemen and the establishment of an inclusive negotiation process under UN auspices.
The ministers reaffirmed the commitment of the CSTO countries to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and called upon the international community to provide all possible support to the fight against the remnants of ISIS (former name of the terrorist group Islamic State, banned in Russia) and other terrorist groups in Iraq.
Documents on the development of the CSTO Collective forces
Heads of defense agencies signed documents on the development of the military component of the organization drafted by the CSTO Joint staff during a joint meeting. According to the United headquarters, these documents concern in particular the equipment and composition of military contingents, special purpose formations of CSTO Collective rapid reaction forces as well as deployment of protected CSTO multiservice communication network.
The Armenian side informed the participants of the meeting about the priorities of the CSTO chairmanship in 2022.
The session was attended by heads of foreign ministries, defense ministries, secretaries of security councils of CSTO member states, CSTO secretary-general Stanislav Zas and colonel-general Anatoly Sidorov, chief of the CSTO United staff.
The joint meeting of the relevant ministers and secretaries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was held ahead of the regular session of the CSTO Collective Security Council to be held on September 16. Leaders of the member countries of the association will discuss urgent problems of international and regional security and the main results of the organization's activity during the inter-sessional period. The situation in Afghanistan and its impact on the security in the CSTO member states will be among the most important issues. The summit will be chaired by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in it via videoconference.
About the CSTO
The CSTO is an international security organization that currently includes six states: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The Collective Security Treaty was signed in Tashkent in 1992.
Tajikistan is chairing the CSTO in 2020-2021.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS