Russian Foreign Ministry: Consolidating role of Collective Security Treaty Organization must be reckoned with

09.02.2022, Moscow.

The consolidating role of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is undeniable and the West will have to reckon with it, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at a meeting of committees of the parliaments of the CSTO member states, the press service of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly reported on February 9.

“We are talking about the key points of ensuring the security and well-being of our states. The consolidating role of the CSTO, which has effectively demonstrated its capabilities and its peacekeeping functions during the recent tragic events in Kazakhstan, is undeniable. The West will have to reckon with that,” Ryabkov said.

Ryabkov said Russia insisted that post-Soviet states renounce military cooperation with NATO, creation of military bases on their territories and limiting the deployment of strike forces near Russian borders.

“Russia needs guarantees that NATO will not expand eastwards,” Ryabkov said.

The situation with NATO’s expansion ambitions and military-technical development of the territories of post-Soviet states requires mobilization of political resources, Ryabkov believes, including the resource of inter-parliamentary work of the CSTO countries.

“The parliamentary component is the key, central one, and requires additional attention, additional efforts, in my view, including by the leadership of the parliaments of the CSTO member states,” Ryabkov said.

During riots in Kazakhstan at the beginning of January, a CSTO peacekeeping contingent deployed to the country at the request of the Kazakh president secured strategically important facilities, thereby freeing up additional law enforcement resources engaged in protecting facilities and foiling the activities of looters and terrorists who acted behind the backs of the protesters.

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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