A meeting of the Collective Security Council, the highest body of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), is held in Yerevan, Armenia, Nov. 23, 2022. Leaders of the six member countries of the CSTO on Wednesday exchanged views here on strengthening security cooperation and stabilizing the region, reported the state-run news agency Armenpress. (Photo by Asatur Yesayants/Xinhua)
YEREVAN, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the six member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on Wednesday exchanged views here on strengthening security cooperation and stabilizing the region, reported the state-run news agency Armenpress.
At the meeting of the Collective Security Council, the CSTO's highest body, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on member states, namely Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, to coordinate closely on the Afghan issue and jointly fight terrorism, extremism and drug-related criminal threats.
He also called for further expansion of technical and military cooperation among the member states, and voiced support for providing the CSTO peacekeeping forces with modern weapons and special equipment.
The leaders agreed that Belarus will assume the rotating presidency of the organization in 2023, while former Kazakh Prime Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov will serve as the new secretary-general.
The CSTO is a Russia-led military alliance created in 1992, grouping the six former Soviet republics with the aim of safeguarding peace and stability in Eurasia. ■
A meeting of the Collective Security Council, the highest body of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), is held in Yerevan, Armenia, Nov. 23, 2022. Leaders of the six member countries of the CSTO on Wednesday exchanged views here on strengthening security cooperation and stabilizing the region, reported the state-run news agency Armenpress. (Photo by Asatur Yesayants/Xinhua)
