Stanislav Zas: Parliamentary dimension development is one of the Organization’s priorities

“Parliamentary dimension is one of the cornerstones of our Organization,” said Stanislav Zas, CSTO Secretary General, at the working meeting of the plenipotentiary representatives of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Member States to the CSTO headed by Viktor Biyagov, Chairman of the CSTO Permanent Council and Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the CSTO, with the plenipotentiary representatives of the Parliaments of the CSTO Member States at the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly.
According to the CSTO Secretary General, the CSTO Secretariat attaches great importance to interaction with the Parliamentary Assembly, viewing it as an important instrument for enhancing the Organization’s effectiveness.
Stanislav Zas recalled that the development of the CSTO parliamentary component is one of the priorities for the Republic of Armenia’s presidency in the CSTO, while the leadership of the CSTO Secretariat regularly participates in the sessions of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly Council, Assembly’s plenary sessions and other events.
“We welcome and support the participation of representatives of the Coordination Council of Chairpersons of Committees (Commissions) on Defence and Security of the Parliaments of the CSTO Member States under the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the joint exercises of the CSTO Collective Forces, including for the purposes of parliamentary monitoring of the military and political situation in the collective security regions,” said the CSTO Secretary General, thanking the CSTO parliamentarians for their participation in the CSTO joint exercise Vzaimodeistvie 2021 in Tajikistan. “This participation, besides fulfilling military and political tasks, was important in terms of raising the significance of this event in general, and drew particular attention to those threats, to the situation in this region,” said Stanislav Zas.
Secretary General named the implementation of the Action Plan to mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Collective Security Treaty and the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the CSTO as one of the ways to enhance the effectiveness of interaction between the CSTO and the CSTO PA to strengthen the Organization’s position in the international arena.
“In this context, we could think about the sphere of public diplomacy,” noted the CSTO Secretary General, recalling that “parliamentarians participate in it by the nature of their activity and could contribute to initiating discussions and implementing proposals aimed at shaping a positive image of our Organization in the eyes of the international public.”