Global situation needs CSTO concerted measures to fight old, new threats, challenges - Putin

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that current quite difficult situation in the world demands well-orchestrated actions taken by the Collective Security Treaty Organisation CSTO member states. “Our summit is being held at a quite difficult period of time, the situation in the world is changing dynamically, old problems are becoming acuter, but unfortunately new ones are emerging and global security system is deforming,” the Russian head of state said, opening the CSTO summit at the Kremlin on Tuesday. “All this demands from the CSTO member states well-coordinated joint measures to ensure security of our countries and the region as a whole to combat terrorism, drug trafficking, cross-border crime and prevent natural and man-made disasters,” he said. Putin noted that the CSTO states had real capabilities to resolve these tasks. “For many years the organisation showed itself as an authoritative and effective regional structure, acquiring a rich working experience on the principles of equal partnership, openness, mutual respect and trust,” the Russian leader noted. He noted that during Russia’s CSTO presidency for the past year “the top priority was given to strengthening of organisation’s borders and improvement of collective response forces and means.” “The CSTO states took effort to improve operational and combat training of military and special formations of the CSTO states and drilled interoperability in peacemaking operations,” the Russian president noted. He recalled about several military exercises held in 2014. “With Russia’s active support a network of CSTO humanitarian centres is being created, first of them will open in Armenia next year, later a similar centre will start operating in Kyrgyzstan,” Putin said. “Co-ordination of the CSTO states at major international forums became better,” he said. He gave as an example a joint initiative in the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) where several documents were taken regarding the situation in Syria, shaping of a zone free of nuclear weapons in Central Asia, counteraction to attempts to falsify the history. The Russian president singled out the UN General Assembly resolution banning Nazism heroization. “Only the United States, Canada and Ukraine voted against it,” Putin recalled. “This resolution is particularly topical ahead of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War [1941-1945], we will also celebrate this event together in May 2015.” The Russian leader added that “this is important to spread the practice of well-orchestrated actions in other spheres as well, referring primarily to the fight against extremism and terrorism.” Read more