DUSHANBE, September 5, 2008, Asia-Plus — President Emomali Rahmon today morning left for Moscow to attend a two-day session of the council of heads of state of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that is opening in Moscow today, according to presidential press service.
Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, Defense Minister Sherali Khairulloyev, State Adviser to the Tajik President for International Matters Erkin Rahamtulloyev and other officials are accompanying Rahmon on this trip
The meeting is aiming to discuss the present situation in member nations of the Organization as well as state and prospects of further expansion of cooperation between them in providing security, training of personnel for appropriate services and endorse a number of documents coordinated at a session of the CSTO foreign ministers, the press service said.
In the meantime, the CSTO foreign ministers’ session that was held in Moscow yesterday resulted in signing of the statement in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia’s Itar-Tass quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying, “This statement gives clear answers to all questions.” “It will be a consolidated position of the CSTO members; and our envoys henceforth will act from the positions approved by the ministers,” he added. “The statement support Russia’s actions in the zone of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict,” Lavrov underlined.
The statement calls upon all the states to approach the evaluation of the situation in South Ossetia in a balanced way and objectively. “The ministers of the CSTO states are deeply concerned over the military actions in South Ossetia, taken by the Georgian side, which resulted in numerous casualties among civilians, death of peacekeepers and a humanitarian catastrophe,” the document said.
“The tragedy in South Ossetia showed the danger of the build-up of military potential in the Caucasus and of the attempts of the settlement of conflicts by force. The events around South Ossetia also showed the danger of the politics of double standards in international relations.”
The ministers are urging all the countries to approach the evaluation of the situation in a balanced way and objectively, and not to take actions capable of provoking its further aggravation.
The ministers “support the active role of Russia in contributing to peace and cooperation in the Caucasus and call for ensuring firm security for South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the basis of the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and other fundamental documents of international law.
“To prevent the new attempts of a forceful resolution of the conflict, and ensure peace and stability in this region, the ministers call for strict adherence to the Medvedev-Sarkozy settlement principles,” the CSTO foreign ministers stressed.
The regional security organization was initially formed in 1992 for a five-year period by the members of the CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) — Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which were joined by Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Belarus the following year. A 1994 treaty “reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force,” and prevented signatories from joining any “other military alliances or other groups of states” directed against members states. The CST was then extended for another five-year term in April 1999, and was signed by the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. In October 2002, the group was renamed as the CSTO. Uzbekistan joined the Organization in 2006.
