Rachkov: “Parliamentarians of the CSTO and the Union of Belarus and Russia are reaching a new level of interaction.”

On February 2, the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation hosted an extended session of the Commission for International Affairs, Migration Policy and Relations with Compatriots of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO PA).

It is noteworthy that today for the first time a joint session of the parliamentarians of the two organizations was held within the framework of this Commission.

Sergei Rachkov, Chairman of the Standing Commission for International Affairs and National Security of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, welcomed the participants of the meeting.

“Colleagues, I am glad to see you at the extended meeting of our Commission. I also welcome my colleagues from the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, the Standing Committee of the Union State, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Central Office of the State Duma, as well as the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly. Dear colleagues, it is very symbolic that our meeting is taking place on the day of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Battle of Stalingrad. I think that this victory should be in the memory of our people. We must make every effort to preserve the memory of the heroism of our forefathers. And it is very important and symbolic that today we still need victories in various areas, including in defending our positions on international platforms,” Sergei Rachkov said.

At the outset of the meeting, Vasily Dzhabarov, Senator of the Russian Federation, was presented with a Diploma of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia for his work on strengthening relations and comprehensive cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.

Participants of the meeting discussed the progress in implementing a number of Union State programmes.

"Implementation of these programmes, the Migration Policy Paper and the updated Military Doctrine of the Union State fall within the competence of our Commission. As Aleksandr Lukashenko said, referring to the updated Military Doctrine, we have done a lot in the Union State in this time (in six months, in a year). Of course, we will have to update the Policy Paper again, taking into account the development of the military and political situation in our region,” Mr Rachkov said.

The parliamentarians discussed eight issues on the meeting’s agenda, including the role of parliamentarians in strengthening peace, stability, international and regional security.

“It is evident that today we are living and working under very difficult conditions of sanction pressure exerted by the West on the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. Belarus assumed presidency in the CSTO at a time of a systemic crisis in international relations, amid unprecedented aggravation of the military and political situation on the Eurasian continent, further polarization of approaches to a new world order. There is growing pressure on the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. The crisis in the international and regional security framework directly concerns the CSTO, which is exposed to multifaceted challenges and threats.

The first priority that the Republic of Belarus brings forward during its presidency in 2023 is that of crisis management. The Belarusian presidency plans to make all possible diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalation of tensions, reduction of conflict potential, as well as at increasing mutual trust through joint actions of the CSTO Member States. In order to respond effectively to a wide range of crisis situations that arise in the CSTO area of responsibility, Belarus intends to focus on improving the legal framework of the Organization and the national legal acts. In our opinion, this should facilitate prompt decision-making on the application of collective security forces and assets,” Sergei Rachkov said.

He said that special attention was to be paid to simplifying the transit of contingents with weapons and military equipment through the territories of the CSTO Member States.

Mr Rachkov noted that anti-crisis mechanisms and measures involving forces and assets of the CSTO collective security system needed to be further developed and improved in terms of their use efficiency.

“There is a need to develop a flexible political toolset and mechanisms of consultation, monitoring and observation on the ground. In order to enhance coherence and strengthen inter-agency cooperation in counteracting transnational challenges and threats to security, Belarus intends to hold events within the mandate of relevant agencies and possibly invite other interested countries and representatives of relevant international organizations. As biological-security issues become more important, Belarus plans to hold a session of the relevant coordinating council of the authorized agencies of the Member States of the Organization,” Mr Rachkov stressed.

He called the effective positioning of the CSTO in the system of international relations the second priority.

“In this context, the Belarusian side proposes to hold a broad discussion of the international agenda in the context of the CSTO interests in the margins of a high-level international conference on Eurasian security, inviting senior officials of the UN Secretariat, the SCO, the CIS and other international organizations. The event is to take place in Minsk in 2023,” Sergei Rachkov announced.

He said that the CSTO’s position in the international arena would be bolstered by expanding partnerships with global players, China and India.

The strengthening of the CSTO military component was named the third priority. Belarus sees the improvement of readiness of the CSTO troops to fulfil their missions and enhance military and technical cooperation among the Member States as a priority in this area.

“A number of joint exercises will be held in Belarus in 2023 by the command-and-control bodies and formations of the CSTO collective security forces and assets. The Belarusian presidency intends to focus on developing unified approaches on standardization and cataloguing of the defence production and to promote cooperation between enterprises to manufacture advanced military products,” Mr Rachkov said.

He called the fourth priority the strengthening of the analytical component of the response to information warfare and positioning.

“The Republic of Belarus intends to place an emphasis on building up the institutional capacity of the CSTO in the area of information and analysis, which will contribute to dramatic strengthening of the Organization and ensure a more efficient response to emerging security challenges and threats. The formation of a network of national think tanks for strategic studies of the Member States would serve as a concrete practical contribution. The Belarusian side suggested that the heads of the national strategic research think tanks of the CSTO Member States meet in 2023 to organize a system of work towards this goal,” Sergei Rachkov said.

The speaker concluded by stressing that the proposals could be implemented only if all CSTO Member States work harmoniously together and receive support from all of them.