CSTO Should Become Balancing Factor in Euro-Atlantic Region: Lavrov
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) should be a balancing factor in the Euro-Atlantic region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview for a documentary, headlined ‘CSTO Allies - 30 Years on Guard of Collective Security.’
"A heated debate is now under way regarding how to implement CSTO summit decisions on ensuring indivisible security. This is one of the fundamental issues that we are bringing up for the discussion," he said, TASS reported.
"We are asking those questions to our interlocutors, because, apart from the commitment to refrain from boosting anyone’s security at the expense of others, everyone has undertook the commitment to prevent any organization - in this case, NATO - from claiming an exceptional role in security-related events and processes in the Euro-Atlantic region," the Russian top diplomat continued.
"We will press for those answers. One cannot simply promise something, sign something and do whatever he wants, it does not work this way. That is why CSTO should become a factor that ensures balance in the Euro-Atlantic region," the minister said.
The development of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is not to the liking of NATO countries, Lavrov said.
"CSTO will develop depending on needs that do arise in practical life. Not everyone likes the organization’s development, including our NATO colleagues," he said.
The minister went on to say that starting from mid-200s, CSTO has been inviting NATO to create mechanisms for consultations, information exchange and cooperation in various spheres of the Euro-Atlantic security, primarily within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
"NATO members, who continue to treat other states and organizations with arrogance, ignored those requests. A heated debate is now under way regarding ways to implement CSTO summit decisions on ensuring indivisible security. This is one of the fundamental issues that we are bringing up for the discussion," the Russian top diplomat continued. "The formula of indivisible security, signed by presidents and heads of governments of all NATO countries, envisages, among other things, that every nation, group of nations or organization abstains from attempts to claim the dominant role in the Euro-Atlantic region."
Lavrov stressed that all NATO actions are exactly what its members once undertook to avoid.
"We are asking those questions to our interlocutors, because, apart from the commitment to refrain from boosting anyone’s security at the expense of others, everyone has undertook the commitment to prevent any organization - in this case, NATO - from claiming an exceptional role in security-related events and processes in the Euro-Atlantic region," the Russian top diplomat continued.
"We will press for those answers. One cannot simply promise something, sign something and do whatever he wants, it does not work this way. That is why the CSTO should become a factor that ensures balance in the Euro-Atlantic region," he said.
