Sergei Rachkov: CSTO PA’s task is political promotion of the goals and tasks implemented by the CSTO as a regional defence organization

Sergei Rachkov, Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs and National Security of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, spoke at the meeting of the CSTO PA Standing Commission on Political Affairs and International Cooperation regarding the agenda item Appeal of the Belarusian Deputies and Members of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus to the International Community Concerning the Situation Around Belarus.
He also shared his opinion on the most pressing tasks of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly under current conditions.
– What meaning and importance do parliamentarians from the Republic of Belarus see in their political work within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization?
– When joining the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Republic of Belarus, no doubt, made a conscious choice. The Organization has significant potential. And the creation of its parliamentary dimension, the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, is also important and symbolic, since its task is precisely the political work: promotion of the goals and tasks implemented by the CSTO as a regional defence organization.
Belarus takes part in the work of both the CSTO as a whole and the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly. We are active in the CSTO PA commissions, for instance, in the CSTO PA Standing Commission on Political Affairs and International Cooperation.
The current political situation around our states is complicated. We see an attack. A hybrid, sophisticated attack on both the Republic of Belarus and other states in the Organization. It is not only an economic pressure, but also a political and diplomatic one. Therefore, we should be active in international organizations, we should consistently express our position at all international and inter-parliamentary platforms. One of the tasks of the CSTO PA is to be such a platform.
Now we are starting to formalize another very important area of the Assembly’s work: monitoring elections in the Organization’s Member States.
That is what we are already doing, and doing it actively. Therefore, now it is very important to consolidate the work already done, to provide a methodological basis for it. We, parliamentarians, should intensify our efforts in the political sphere, in promoting the CSTO agenda.