Foreign ministers of CIS security organization start meeting in Moscow

ITAR-TASS news agency
12 Nov 04

Moscow. 12 November: Countering international terrorism will be the
central issue at the meeting of foreign ministers of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization [CSTO], which began in Moscow today. The
organization comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan.

According to Aleksandr Yakovenko, official spokesman of the Russian
Foreign Minister, “this issue, along with fight against extremism,
the illegal circulation of narcotics, illegal migration and organized
crime is becoming increasingly prominent in the CSTO.”

“The organization is open to cooperation and interaction with the UN
and other international organizations, including NATO,” the diplomat
noted. “Proposals for building dialogue and cooperation are being
considered by the leadership of the alliance.” Yakovenko thinks that a
no less important direction of work is “creating a single information
field, which should facilitate the effective functioning of the system
of collective security”. “The first step,” he noted, “was the holding
of the International Antiterrorist Media Forum in April”.

“The unanimous approval of a draft resolution on giving the
organization the status of an observer at the UN General Assembly,”
the diplomat stressed, “attests to the growing prestige of the CSTO”.