CSTO Foreign Ministers discuss measures to counter terrorism

MOSCOW (BelTA) – Foreign Ministers of the States-Members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) approved a draft decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council on counter-terrorism measures, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha said following a meeting of the CSTO Foreign Ministers Council in Yerevan, BelTA learned from CSTO spokesman Vladimir Zainetdinov.

The Ministers had a constructive exchange of views on foreign policy aspects of combating international terrorism and extremism and agreed that the spread of international terrorism and extremism affects not only individual states but poses a threat to the entire international community and called for the intensification of joint anti-terrorism activities in the CSTO format.

“The Ministers focused on the measures to counteract the terrorist threat,” Nikolai Bordyuzha said following the meeting. According to him, the draft decision provides for the measures that need to be taken to counter terrorism. The Ministers emphasized that in today's environment the efforts of the CSTO Member States to assist the formation of a broad international coalition against terrorism under the aegis of the UN are of particular importance

The meeting approved the draft strategy of the Collective Security Treaty Organization for the period up to 2025, and also the updated collective guidelines for the permanent representatives of the CSTO Member States to international organizations, the list of themes for joint statements in 2016 and a plan of consultations between representatives of the CSTO Member States on foreign policy, defense and security in the second half of 2016 - first half of 2017.

The Foreign Ministers discussed the most urgent problems of international and regional security, including the situation in Afghanistan, Syria and the Middle East in general, and also in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Ministers adopted the declaration on the situation in Syria and around it and a statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

A regular meeting of the CSTO Foreign Ministers Council will take place in Yerevan in the second half of 2016 ahead of the session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization scheduled for October.