Russia suggested exploring possible cooperation in the field of biological security within the CSTO

At a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Member States on May 26, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov invited the Organization’s Member States to consider priority measures to develop cooperation on biological security. The official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation reports that Sergei Lavrov said this at the CSTO CFM meeting on May 26, held by videoconference.
In his opening speech, Sergei Lavrov stressed that “the coronavirus infection is a serious test for the entire system of international relations and a challenge for each state and interstate structures.”
“Today we have to carefully analyse what conclusions should be drawn with regard to the activities of our Organization.
It is clear that there is a demand for the CSTO potential to respond to such threats in the interests of health and well-being of the citizens of our countries.
Therefore, we have proposed to consider today the priority measures to develop cooperation in the field of biological security,” said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry when opening the meeting.
He noted that for the first time the CSTO ministerial meeting is held in the format of a videoconference. “Certainly, this format cannot replace live communication, but it will definitely not prevent us from working today as always in a friendly and effective manner,” said Mr Lavrov.
At the same time, he added that despite the pandemic, the CSTO Member States were able to have a grand celebration of the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
“This year is special: it is the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. It is good to see that despite the coronavirus, this sacred date has been widely celebrated in our countries in various formats,” he said.
According to TASS, Sergei Lavrov thanked the CSTO partners for their assistance in creating a joint virtual exhibition of archive documents and photographs for this anniversary. “A statement on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Victory is planned to be adopted today. I am grateful for your substantial contribution to the work on this project,” added the Minister.
Cooperation of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation with the CIS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) would be useful in the fight against terrorism, the Russian Foreign Minister added.
“It would be useful to align the CSTO anti-terrorist programs with relevant projects of the CIS and the SCO, to ensure maximum consolidation of the organizations’ potential in this area. We plan to discuss this issue today and we welcome the heads of the CIS and the SCO Secretariats,” he said.
The Minister stressed that the CSTO should continue paying the utmost attention to identifying foreign terrorists, especially those from the CIS countries. “Completion of a unified list of organizations that the CSTO States consider to be terrorist would help create a reliable barrier,” he said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, who chaired the meeting, also drew attention to the threat posed by drug trafficking, primarily of Afghan origin, the proceeds from which are used to finance terrorist activities. Mr Lavrov recalled that CSTO’s anti-drug operation Kanal (“channel”) plays an important role in combating drug trafficking.
“We are committed to further expanding Kanal’s geographic coverage and attracting new participants. This year we will take stock of the 2015–2020 CSTO anti-drug programme,” he concluded.
The CSTO foreign ministers are also working on the legal framework for the participation of its peacekeeping forces in operations under the auspices of the UN.
“We consider it important to maintain a regular dialogue in the CSTO format on the entire spectrum of security issues in the Euro-Atlantic region in order to coordinate the allies’ approaches,” Mr Lavrov said. “The tasks of building up the CSTO peacekeeping capacity require particular attention. Today we will continue discussing ways to address organizational issues and improve the legal framework. I am confident that this will allow the CSTO units to participate in peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the UN.”

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In turn, as the CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas stated to TASS at the end of the CSTO CFM meeting, “it should be noted that the threats to the security of CSTO Member States increase in several dimensions. This is not some deliberate overstatement or dramatization. Unfortunately, this is the reality in which we live, and this should also be taken into account in the CSTO activities.”
One of the issues on the meeting’s agenda was the CSTO interaction with the CIS and the SCO. According to the CSTO Secretary General, “practical military interaction has been organized primarily with the CIS; on counter-terrorism, with the CIS and the SCO. Last year we started laying the foundation for trilateral cooperation,” Mr Zas said.
At the same time, the CSTO Secretary General stressed that the achieved level of interaction is not sufficient given the current realities. “We need to go further and develop both bilateral and trilateral interaction. This was addressed today and we are glad that the CIS and the SCO understand the mutual benefits of such cooperation for all our organizations and further progress,” he said.