Edward Nalbandian attends CSTO Foreign Ministers Council summit in Minsk

May 31, 2011 - 19:05 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On May 31, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian participated in the work of CSTO Foreign Ministers Council summit.

Among issues focused on were cooperation between the Foreign Ministries, particularly the synchronization of the cooperation with other international organizations, the prospects and the ways to improve the peacekeeping activities in the CSTO-UN format under the joint declaration on cooperation, which the secretariats of the organizations signed in March 2010.

The summit agenda also included discussion on the improvement of the CSTO instruments to adapt the organization to new realities, including a more efficient response to the challenges and threats to security in the CSTO states. In this context, the progress in fulfilling the decisions, which had been taken at the December (2010) session of the CSTO Collective Security Council, and the operation of the specific coordination instruments of the organization was discussed.

CSTO

The Collective Security Treaty Organization, formed under the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States, serves as a mutual defense alliance among Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992 for five-year term, with the possibility of prolongation. On December 2, 2004 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Resolution to grant the observer status to the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the General Assembly of the United Nations. The goal of the Collective Security Treaty Organization is to strengthen peace and international and regional security and stability and to ensure collective protection of independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Member States, in the attainment of which Member States shall give priority to political methods. On February 4, 2009, the CSTO leaders approved formation of Collective Rapid Reaction Force (RRF).