BELARUS NOT TO BE "ONLOOKER" IN CIS SECURITY BLOC, PRESIDENT SAYS

Belapan news agency
8 Aug 06

Minsk, 8 August: The Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO,
made up of Armenia, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan] has become a full-fledged member of the international
security system. Official information sources quoted [Belarusian
President] Alyaksandr Lukashenka as saying this at a conference with
newly appointed Belarus’s representatives to interstate bodies on
8 August.

"Our interests and our participation here are the Belarusian-Russian
group of forces in the western direction. This is our area of
responsibility in the CSTO. It is here where we will take efforts
to ensure security of the CSTO member states," the head of state
said. However, he added, Belarus will not take the attitude of an
"onlooker as far as it concerns other events in other regions –
in Asia, Russia, etc – that do not contradict our constitution".

Lukashenka said that the ability of the member states to adopt a
common approach and take coordinated actions is vital to the CSTO’s
efficiency. "That is why we expect our representatives to the CSTO
to work actively to further increase the level of coordination of
foreign political activities," the head of state said.

He emphasized the importance of pre-emptive response tools in the
present-day situation in the world. Therefore, the improvement of
information and analytical work within the CSTO framework should
become one of the main elements for the organization’s development,
Lukashenka said.

The head of state also named the creation and development of a system
of emergency response and military and technical cooperation as the
organization’s priority tasks.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress