TSAMTO, November 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which took place on November 23 in Yerevan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Stanislav Zas held a meeting in a narrow format.
Negotiations continued in an expanded format with the participation of members of delegations, in particular foreign ministers, defense Ministers and secretaries of the Security Councils of the member States of the organization.
The summit participants discussed key areas of cooperation, current international and regional issues.
Following the results of the session, a package of documents was signed.
Below is a transcript of Vladimir Putin's speech at a meeting of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in a narrow format as presented by the Kremlin's press service.
Vladimir Putin: "This year, the dynamics of our joint work in the organization has increased. The CSTO members interact within the framework of joint mechanisms through the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Ministries of Defense, security councils, parliaments.
Consultations are held regularly, during which coordinated positions are developed on political and military-strategic issues, topical issues of the regional and international agenda.
The improvement of the collective rapid deployment and rapid response forces, collective aviation and peacekeeping forces continues. On an ongoing basis, measures are being taken to maintain their combat readiness, improve the management system and increase the training of military personnel.
The effectiveness of these measures was also confirmed by the CSTO peacekeeping operation in Kazakhstan carried out in January, which prevented the seizure of power by extremists and helped to stabilize the internal political situation in the republic. Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich expressed gratitude for the support provided and the shoulder offered. And, taking this opportunity, I once again congratulate him on his convincing victory in the elections and wish him success in implementing the planned large-scale plans for transformation in the political, social and economic life of the country.
It can be noted with satisfaction that the very valuable practical experience gained during the peacekeeping operation in Kazakhstan has been analyzed by us, the organization's secretariat, and Russia certainly supports the important decision made for our approval on equipping the organization's peacekeeping forces with modern weapons, military and special equipment, as well as special means.
The decision that we have to take today, including the improvement of the CSTO communication system, the creation of a joint formation of radiation, chemical, biological protection and medical support, the functioning of a unified system of technical cover of railways in the CSTO, Russia certainly supports.
I will also mention that military-technical cooperation between the member States of our organization is expanding. The interstate military-economic commission of the CSTO, created on the initiative of Russia, is actively participating in activities in this direction. Special services and law enforcement agencies are carrying out joint operational measures to combat terrorism and extremism, transnational crime, illegal migration, drug trafficking, and to protect against natural and man-made emergencies.
And, of course, all of us are truly united by the work to preserve the memory of the common history of our states, that our peoples won the Great Patriotic War together. We are constantly working on this together, paying, in my opinion, the necessary and necessary attention to these issues.
Of course, we see not only achievements, but also problems. Colleagues talked about this today, and today we will talk about it – I think without any cameras - in more detail. Nevertheless, it is obvious to us that joint work within the framework of the CSTO brings visible practical benefits, helps to ensure the protection of national interests, sovereignty and independence of our countries.
Of course, issues related to efforts to achieve a comprehensive Armenian–Azerbaijani settlement also require our further attention – I agree with colleagues who have already talked about this. Of course, this is an acute issue that requires our attention.
In this regard, we positively assess the summit of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia held in Sochi at the end of October in the presence of the President of Russia. The negotiations that took place created a good basis for future compromises on fundamental issues. It is important that the joint statement reaffirmed the commitment to the trilateral agreements at the highest level that were reached earlier – in 2020 and in 2021, and the key role of our joint format of interaction in ensuring peace and stability in the South Caucasus.
Only by consistently implementing these agreements on the delimitation of the border, unblocking transport communications, and solving humanitarian problems can we achieve a stable normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We hope that this will eventually lead to the conclusion of a peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku. The Prime Minister of Armenia and I have already exchanged these considerations briefly, and during our bilateral meeting today, of course, we will talk about this in more detail.
I share the concerns of colleagues who have spoken out about the situation in Afghanistan: it remains, of course, difficult. The danger of infiltration of militants of various international terrorist organizations on the territory of the CSTO states is still great, and the spread of extremist ideology among the population of Central Asian countries increases the risk of activation of the radical underground in the region. This applies, in fact, to all our countries.
We believe that further close coordination within the CSTO on all key aspects of the Afghan problem is extremely necessary. It is necessary to continue intensive work through the competent services in order to timely identify threats of terrorism, extremism and drug crime. And, of course, to neutralize these threats with the help of joint special operations and operational measures that have proven their effectiveness.
We will also contribute to the stabilization of Afghanistan within the framework of other multilateral mechanisms. Last week, I want to inform you about this, a meeting of the Moscow format of consultations was held in the Russian capital: Russia – China – Pakistan – Iran –India and five Central Asian countries. The priority task at this stage is to ensure the formation of a truly inclusive Afghan Government, which will include representatives of all ethnic groups at the required level.
Dear colleagues, I will also provide you with separate information on the situation related to the events in Ukraine.
In conclusion, I would like to sincerely thank Stanislav Vasilyevich Zas, who is resigning from the post of Secretary General of the CSTO, and, of course, wish success to the incoming representative of Kazakhstan Imangali Nurgalievich Tasmagambetov.
And of course, I would like to express my gratitude to the Prime Minister of Armenia, to all our Armenian friends for the work done during the CSTO presidency, and also wish success to our Belarusian colleagues, who are taking over the chairmanship of the Organization.
For our part, we will undoubtedly provide all the necessary assistance and, in general, we will continue to contribute in every possible way to the expansion of allied ties between the CSTO countries."
