CSTO summit to discuss ways of responding to growing activity of NATO

The leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will discuss ways to respond to the growing activity of NATO on the borders of the military alliance during the summit which will take place on December 26. CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha said in an interview with Izvestia newspaper.

"We must clearly understand what is happening around our borders, why NATO tightens arms, creates infrastructure. It locates additional four battalions in Eastern Europe. Why is this done? We can not remain silent and do nothing, looking at how the countries around us are being stuffed with weapons, troops are being relocated," Nikolay Bordyuzha said.

According to the CSTO Secretary General, it is important to understand how overall security situation changes and how to respond to these changes in order "not to be late."

Nikolay Bordyuzha said that it was not about military buildup, adding that "we have enough power component." He told that during the upcoming meeting the presidents of the organization countries would discuss various aspects of the international agenda, including Eurasian integration issues.

In addition, the summit program also includes the question on the appointment of the Secretary General of the organization (representatives of CSTO will be nominated in rotation for the post starting from 2017). 

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said about necessity to lend weight to CSTO at a meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council on October 14 in Yerevan. He said that military experts from the organization countries would take part in forming the priorities for the Belarusian presidency within the next year.

As the newspaper writes, the spokesman for the president Dmitry Peskov confirmed that preparations for the CSTO summit of Heads of State, which will be held in St. Petersburg on December 26, are underway. 

CSTO includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.