CSTO Parliamentarians Reconciled Positions on the International Agenda

On October 19, a meeting of the CSTO PA Standing Commission on Political Affairs and International Cooperation was held in St Petersburg.

Aleksandr Markevich, deputy Chairman of the Standing Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus on Security, reported on the implementation of the priorities of the Republic of Belarus’ 2023 CSTO chairmanship, and also summed up the results of the parliamentary monitoring of the military and political situation in the Eastern European region of the CSTO collective security (September 5–6, 2023, Republic of Belarus).

Kirill Golub, Head of the Legal Department of the CSTO Secretariat, shared the results of CSTO’s intersessional activities.

Anatoly Vyborny, Chairman of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly Standing Commission on Defence and Security Affairs and deputy of the Russian State Duma, presented a draft statement by the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly Council on the possible consequences of the use of depleted uranium munitions.

The meeting participants also discussed the coordination meeting of the heads of the parliamentary delegations of the CSTO countries in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly held in June and the results of the work of the parliamentary delegations of the CSTO Member States at the 30th annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

In addition, the meeting negatively assessed the fact of honouring Nazism in the Canadian parliament and the US decision of July 19, 2023 to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions. The participants also condemned the repressive policy of the Kiev regime aimed at destroying the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The Belarusian side shared plans to participate in the upcoming 147th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which will be held in Luanda at the end of October, and the coordination meeting of the heads of IPU parliamentary delegations of the CSTO countries.

As you may recall, the CSTO PA Standing Commission on Political Affairs and International Cooperation promotes the approximation and harmonization of the national legislation of the CSTO Member States in the field of international security, prepares and considers CSTO PA’s draft political statements and appeals, coordinates parliamentary monitoring of electoral processes in the CSTO Member States and ensures cooperation between the CSTO PA and other parliaments and international organizations.