Friday, September 17 2021 17:57

ArmInfo.Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took part in a joint sitting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which  was attended by the leaders of the member states of the two  organization either being phisically present at the meeting or  remotely. The situation in Afghanistan was discussed during the  meeting.

As the  press service of the RA PM  reports, at the beginning of his  speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan welcomed the heads of the states and  delegations and said, ''First of all, I would like to congratulate  all those present on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the  Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Over the years, the SCO has emerged as an important platform for  partnership in the sphere of regional security and cooperation.

I would also like to thank the President of Tajikistan, Emomali  Rahmon, for the warm reception and organization of today's meeting.

Our meeting is taking place at a time when radical changes in  Afghanistan have created an entirely new situation in the country.  Its nature has a significant impact not only on the developments in  the country and the region, but also on the further development of  the situation and events globally.

We are closely following the developments in and around Afghanistan.

The statements in the initial stage about the end of hostilities, the  general amnesty of state officials, the intention to form an  inclusive coalition government, respect for women's rights in the  Islamic legal system, and the desire to eradicate drug production in  the country were welcomed by the international community.  Prompt and  full implementation of such measures would contribute to the  establishment of peace, order and stability in the country.

However, we have to state that at this stage those intentions have  not yet been specifically reflected in the steps taken by the  Taliban.

We are convinced that the guarantee of a long-term settlement of the  situation in Afghanistan is a fair political process with the  involvement of all Afghans and the representation of all ethnic and  religious communities in the country.

For that, it is very necessary for all parties to show restraint, to  reaffirm their readiness to resolve the disagreements exclusively  through dialogue and negotiations.

As a CSTO member state, we wanted peace and tranquility in all areas  of the Collective Security, within the entire perimiter of the CSTO  zone of responsibility.

Armenia is extremely interested in effectively curbing the threats of  international terrorism in the CSTO and SCO regions. In the absence  of an adequate response at the right time, this could lead to further  escalation of the situation, with the penetration of terrorist  networks into neighboring countries, especially conflict zones.

We strongly condemn terrorism and extremism in all their forms and  manifestations. The use of terrorist groups by certain countries to  achieve certain military-political goals is especially unacceptable.   In this regard, we call for closer dialogue, cooperation, first of  all, at the level of law enforcement agencies and special services,  aimed at exchange of information and experience, as well as for  carrying out effective joint actions to neutralize the threat of  terrorism within the framework of the existing mechanisms of our  Organization.