Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s participation in the meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers

On June 20-21, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took part in a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation in Almaty, which was chaired by the Republic of Kazakhstan.

A fruitful discussion on current issues of international and regional security took place. The heads of delegations discussed in detail the situation in crisis regions of the world and in the Organisation’s area of ​​responsibility, increasing efforts within the CSTO to counter terrorist and other transnational threats, strengthening foreign policy coordination at international platforms, as well as a number of other issues related to improving the CSTO’s activities. Key areas of cooperation for this year were reaffirmed, considering the priorities of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship.

Sergey Lavrov presented Russia’s assessment of the current state and development prospects of the international situation and its influence on the CSTO member states’ security, emphasising the need of joint efforts to form sustainable architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia, free from external dictate, in cooperation with other associations of the continent.

The preparations for the CSTO Collective Security Council session, which will take place on November 28 in Astana, were reviewed. A number of documents were approved to be adopted by the CSTO leaders, including the draft decision “On the CSTO targeted interstate programme to strengthen the Tajik-Afghan border.”

At the Russian initiative, the CSTO foreign ministers adopted statements on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as on expanding cooperation in the field of international information security, and on current issues of research and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

At the proposal of the Belarusian side, a statement was adopted on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from Nazi invaders.

It was decided to hold the next meeting of the CSTO Foreign Ministers Council in Kazakhstan in November ahead of the Collective Security Council session.