CSTO and SCO secretaries general discuss regional security issues in Moscow

Stanislav Zas, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, declared the beginning of a new stage of interaction between the CSTO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. BelTA quotes him as saying this at a meeting in Moscow after talks with Zhang Ming, SCO Secretary-General.
“This meeting will open a new stage of interaction and cooperation between our organizations,” said Stanislav Zas.
The CSTO Secretary General stressed that the Organization has been closely following the SCO’s rising authority in the international arena, welcoming it. In his words, this authority based, among other things, on the sound principles which were laid down when the organization was established. Among these principles Stanislav Zas named respect for international law, mutual respect of states, ambition to build peace based on the principles of indivisible security. “The CSTO adheres to the same principles in its activities. This coincidence provides additional opportunities for enhancing cooperation,” stressed Stanislav Zas.
He called the current meeting an important event, as it is only the second meeting in this format in the history of the two organizations, with the previous being held in 2003. The SCO Secretary-General remarked that the next meeting should not be held in 20 years. In his turn, Zhang Ming congratulated the CSTO on the success of its recent summit of heads of state, as well as on the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Collective Security Treaty and the 20th anniversary of the founding of the CSTO.
At their meeting in Moscow, Stanislav Zas, CSTO Secretary General, and Zhang Ming, SCO Secretary-General, discussed strengthening cooperation between the organizations, with cooperation in the fight against terrorism and maintaining stability in the Central Asian region being among the priorities.