Monday, August 9 2021 18:41

ArmInfo. Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Stanislav Zas, who arrived in the Republic of Armenia on a working visit today, held  meetings in Yerevan with Acting Foreign Minister Armen Grigoryan and  Defense Minister of the Republic of Armenia Arshak Karapetyan.  Stanislav Zas also met with Chief of Staff of the Security Council  Hayk Petrosyan.

According to the CSTO press service, during the meetings Stanislav  Zas informed the Armenian side about the situation in the CSTO zone  of responsibility and about the preparations for the next session of  the Collective Security Council.

In particular, during the meeting with Armen Grigoryan, it was noted  that tension is growing along the entire perimeter of the  Organization's zone of responsibility. In the European direction, a  combined attack on Belarus continues with the aim of overthrowing the  legitimate government, while practically all tools are used:  psychological, economic sanctions and a demonstration of military  force to exert pressure on Belarus.  The CSTO Secretary General  assessed the situation in the Central Asian region of collective  security.  "After the withdrawal of US troops and their allies from  Afghanistan, the situation in this country has deteriorated  significantly, the country is increasingly plunging into chaos, there  may be a danger of a massive influx of refugees into the territory of  neighboring Tajikistan and the penetration of formations of  international terrorist organizations there," Stanislav Zas said. He  noted that the CSTO is closely monitoring the situation on the  Tajik-Afghan border.

Speaking about the Caucasus region of collective security, the CSTO  Secretary General noted that the tension on the Armenian-Azerbaijani  border negatively affects the security of both Armenia itself and the  CSTO area of responsibility as a whole. "We are seriously concerned  about the increasing frequency and geography of armed incidents, as a  result of which there are casualties. We believe that the  possibilities of settling the border conflicts between Armenia and  Azerbaijan by political and diplomatic measures are far from being  exhausted, "Stanislav Zas emphasized.

Concerning the preparations for the upcoming session of the  Collective Security Council, the parties discussed the coordination  of agenda items, the upcoming chairmanship of the Republic of Armenia  in the CSTO in 2022.

During the meeting with the Minister of Defense of Armenia, it was  noted that within the framework of the development of the military  component, it is planned to sign 4 important documents during the  next session of the CSC. Among them are changes to the Agreement on  CSTO Peacekeeping Activities, which determine the procedure and the  possibility of attracting the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces to UN  peacekeeping missions through the "coordinating state", as well as  the Plan for equipping the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF) of  the CSTO with modern weapons, military and special equipment.  Arshak  Karapetyan and Stanislav Zas discussed the planned exercises of the  Collective Forces of the CSTO in 2021, which will be held in  October-November in Tajikistan and Russia.

The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia invited the  Secretary General of the CSTO tomorrow, August 10, to visit one of  the military units of the Armed Forces of Armenia. -

Stanislav Zas and Head of the Office of the Security Council of the  Republic of Armenia, Hayk Petrosyan, discussed the current challenges  and threats and the forthcoming Thunder-2021 exercise in Armenia at  the end of September with the special forces of the anti-drug  services of the CSTO member states.  On August 10, Stanislav Zas is  expected to meet with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.