Aleksandr Lukashenko meets with CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha

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President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolai Bordyuzha on 9 September.

The meeting touched upon preparations for the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council that will take place in Sochi on 23 September as well as the Belarusian-Russian strategic exercise Zapad 2013 (West 2013).

“I would like to discuss several matters with you, which, I am sure, you are interested in. Those are the meeting of the CSTO heads of state that will take place at the end of September. And the exercise Zapad 2013 will take place virtually in the same period,” noted the Belarus President.

Aleksandr Lukashenko underlined he would like to hear out Nikolai Bordyuzha’s opinion as well as opinions of the heads of state he had met with, their response to all the topical problems.

The head of state underlined: “We’ve had too many information issues and other issues in Belarusian-Russian relations recently. I am ready to discuss the issues that may emerge due to that because the last month has turned out to be too violent in our relations, there was a lot of misunderstanding in this regard, and I would like to inform you and hear out your opinions”.

Nikolai Bordyuzha informed Aleksandr Lukashenko about preparations for the Sochi-based CSTO summit in detail. In his words, the agenda has been prepared all in all. In particular, the presidents are expected to discuss several very important matters regarding the buildup of the force component taking into account the global situation.

The presidents of the CSTO member states are expected to discuss a package of documents regarding the development of the military component. The package includes decisions on creating the CSTO air force and the organization of control over the CSTO collective forces.

Apart from that, the heads of state are expected to be informed about the situation at the Tajik-Afghan border and will submit proposals to improve the effectiveness of Tajikistan-Afghanistan border protection. A group of experts from all the CSTO member states, including Belarus, has examined the protection of the state border with Afghanistan, the system and equipment levels of Tajikistan’s border troops.

The CSTO Secretary General said: “We have discussed the situation evolving at the border in detail, the overall situation in the Afghan bordering area, the situation development trends are rather negative. We have concluded that it is necessary to aid the border service of Tajikistan with regard to equipment and better effectiveness of the border protection”.

He also remarked that the day before the meeting of the heads of state in Sochi a joint session of the Foreign Ministers Council, the Defense Ministers Council, and the Committee of Secretaries of CSTO Security Councils will be held. The documents they have yet to approve will be presented for consideration of the presidents.

Aleksandr Lukashenko and Nikolai Bordyuzha also discussed preparations for the Belarusian-Russian exercise Zapad 2013 in detail. Scheduled for late September, the exercise will involve a Belarusian-Russian military force as well as some units of the CSTO Collective Rapid Response Forces. Units of armies of other CSTO member states will be present, including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia. All of them will follow a common plan.