CSTO Secretary General Stanislav ZAS discussed counter-terrorism cooperation issues with Andrei NOVIKOV, Head of the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center.

On January 29, the CSTO Secretariat held a meeting of Stanislav ZAS, CSTO Secretary General, and Andrei NOVIKOV, Head of the CIS Anti-Terrorism Centre.

According to the press service of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Stanislav ZAS expressed a number of proposals on practical counter-terrorism cooperation. “The CSTO Secretariat and the CIS ATC have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation that enables us to carry out our cooperation. In particular, we are interested in participation of CIS ATC representatives in the exercises of the CSTO CRDF special forces,” the CSTO Secretary General said.

Andrei NOVIKOV, in turn, noted that the CIS ATC coordinates activities to search for criminals wanted for crimes of a terrorist and extremist nature; the ATC’s database includes more than 10,000 of such criminals, over 5,000 of whom are terrorist fighters who took part in combat operations outside the Commonwealth within international terrorist organizations. “We actively cooperate with Interpol, the EAG, and the RATS SCO. In 2018 we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UN Counter-Terrorism Office,” the Head of the CIS ATC said. Mr NOVIKOV expressed interest in utilizing the CSTO military potential in anti-terrorist activities withing the framework of the CIS ATC.

The meeting discussed the formation of a Single List of Organizations Recognized as Terrorist in the CSTO Member States.