ArmInfo.The situation along the entire perimeter of the CSTO borders remains tense. CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas following the organization's summit in Moscow stated this to journalists.
"The heads of state noted that the number of security challenges and threats not only in the area of responsibility of the organization, but also in the whole world is steadily growing. They discussed the situation in all areas of responsibility of our organization," said Stanislav Zas, BelTA writes.
He noted that the situation in Eastern Europe is not developing easily, tension remains on the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "Despite the positive results in the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, tensions remain in the Caucasus region, including on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Under these conditions, the Russian peacekeeping contingent plays an important stabilizing role, ensuring the fulfillment of the terms of the agreements of November 9, 2020," said the CSTO Secretary General, adding that Afghanistan remains a destabilizing factor in the Central Asian region.
"Thus, the situation along the entire perimeter of our borders remains quite tense," Stanislav Zas stated.
According to the CSTO Secretary General, a sharp increase in the aggressiveness of world powers and military-political blocs towards Russia and its allies has become a serious challenge for the member countries of the organization.
Speaking about the last summit, Stanislav Zas said that the meeting of the heads of state was constructive, there was a very frank exchange of views on a wide range of issues. The main topics were the state of international and regional security, as well as the role and place of the CSTO in the modern world, and the prospects for the development of the organization. "In my opinion, the meeting was very constructive. In any case, a very frank, confidential conversation took place on a whole wide range of issues," he said, adding that during the summit the prospects for the development of the format were discussed.
"The fact that the CSTO will grow with new partners, observers and members of our Organization is a prospect," Zas said without going into details.
Meanwhile, as Interfax reports, answering a question about the situation in connection with the prospect of Finland and Sweden joining NATO, he said: "We must understand that we are now on the verge of further militarization and increased tension of the Eastern European region. This is a fact, many plans have been announced and (there is) a further increase in defense spending and an increase in the groupings of troops, the number of armed forces, the transfer of additional NATO units to countries adjacent to our states. "At the same time, the CSTO Secretary General noted that if Finland and Sweden join NATO, all of the abovementioned will also extend to Northern Europe. "It's hard to say how this will all end, but one thing is clear: that these steps, including the expansion of the NATO bloc, will lead to increased tension in Europe. This is obvious," Zas summed up.