Ravshan Rajabzoda: CSTO helps stabilize the situation at the border with Afghanistan

At a press conference in Dushanbe, Ramazon Rahimzoda, Interior Minister of Tajikistan, said that the country was fully prepared to ensure security at the border with Afghanistan.

“We are always ready, we have a joint plan of action for such situations,” Mr Rahimzoda said.

According to him, the main threat in the Central Asian region comes from extremist groups entrenched in Afghanistan, with Islamic State and al-Qaeda posing the greatest danger.

The Interior Minister noted that, if necessary, CSTO forces will also be involved. In comments to the CSTO PA press service, Ravshan Rajabzoda, Chairman of the Committee on Legislation and Human Rights of the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan, said that in light of the recent events in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, there was still a high risk of terrorist threats at the southern borders of the CSTO, including the border of the Republic of Tajikistan, due to the current military and political situation in the Central Asian region.

“In this regard, the Republic of Tajikistan highly appreciates the effectiveness of measures taken by the CSTO Member States, in particular anti-terrorist measures, that are achieved through the formation of an effective system of collective security within the CSTO, ensuring collective protection in the event of a threat to security or territorial integrity and the exercise of the right to collective defence. We can say with confidence that the fruitful interaction between the Member States of the CSTO in different spheres of military cooperation contributes to the stabilization of the situation in the region and provides protection in case of a security threat,” Ravshan Rajabzoda noted.

As you may recall, the Collective Security Treaty Organization established in 1992 currently includes six states: the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan.

The main task of the CSTO is to protect the territorial and economic space of its Member States from any external aggressors, international terrorists and natural disasters.