DUSHANBE, March 2, Asia-Plus – President Emomali Rahmonov yesterday evening received visiting Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolay Bardyuzha.
According to presidential press service, in the course of the talks President Rahmonov noted that Tajikistan attaches important significance to strengthening of efficiency of activity of the Organization. During the meeting, the two exchanged views on ways of strengthening role of the CSTO both at regional and international levels, enhancing joint preparedness for addressing modern challenges and threats.
“Nikolay Bardyuzha highly appraised Tajikistan’s contribution to the settlement of regional security issues,” Abdufattoh Sharipov, a spokesman for the Tajik president, said. The two also exchanged views on the present situation in Afghanistan, fight against drug trafficking as well other issues being of mutual interest.
Speaking to journalists after his meeting with President Rahmonov, the CSTO official noted that NATO has begun active work on rehabilitation of its infrastructure round member nations of the CSTO, and most likely, it is part of a certain plan. “Nobody will spend big money for rehabilitating airfields, installing air-defense stations and creating small bases in Eastern Europe for no particular reason,” said Bardyuzha, “All this, to all appearance, joins a general plan implemented by NATO.”
Bordyuzha said the situation in Afghanistan threatens the Central Asian region, adding that NATO has shown no interest in cooperating with CSTO in fighting drug trafficking. “We offered NATO a draft cooperation on this issue in 2003 already, but we have not yet received reply,” Bardyuzha stressed.
Asked about the possibility of military operation against Iran, the CSTO secretary general said that it would jeopardize the security of Central Asia’s states. According to him, air strikes on Iran will not stop its nuclear program.
CSTO members – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – use the organization as a platform for fighting drug trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime, and have pledged to provide immediate military assistance to each other in the event of an attack. The bloc has a Collective Rapid Reaction Force deployed in Central Asia, and is continuing to build up its military forces.
