Sergei Lavrov highlighted CSTO’s maturity and high reliability

An article by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov titled Russia and Central Asia: 30 Years on the Path of Friendship and Cooperation, published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta on 5 May, states: “Russia’s relations with the states of Central Asia are marked by rich and varied cultural and human interaction. There are Russian centres of science and culture in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.”
Speaking of the role of integration associations on the territory of Eurasia, Sergei Lavrov noted the strengthening of cooperation in the field of security and drew particular attention to “joint work within the anti-terrorist and anti-drug structures of the CIS, CSTO and SCO.”
Sergei Lavrov noted the strengthening of security cooperation: “Consultations on combating international terrorism are held on a regular basis, relevant bilateral projects are implemented and assistance in personnel training is provided. Military and military-technical cooperation is being actively developed. Medium- and long-term programmes of military and technical assistance to modernize the armed forces of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are being implemented,” stressed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Sergei Lavrov reminded that the presence of the 201st Russian military base stationed in the Republic of Tajikistan and Russian air force group in the Kyrgyz Republic (Kant) remains one of the most important factors in ensuring the common system of collective security in the region and neutralizing terrorist threats.
Speaking about the role of integration associations in Eurasia, Sergei Lavrov stressed the strengthening of security cooperation and drew attention to “joint work within the anti-terrorist and anti-drug structures of the CIS, CSTO and SCO.”
“The effective actions of the CSTO peacekeeping force in January to assist Kazakhstan in stabilizing the internal political situation after the mass unrest supported from outside, have become a demonstration of the maturity and high reliability of this Organization. To a large extent, this has allowed to neutralize threats to the security of the entire Central Asian region,” Sergei Lavrov said.