The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) countries affirmed their support for all political efforts aimed at resolving the crisis in Syria, as long as the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected.
“We express our support for international efforts, chief among which is the framework of the Astana talks in the context of the international meetings on Syria, aimed at ensuring stability and security in this country based on respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said the secretaries of the countries’ security councils after their meeting on Tuesday, via video conferencing.
The meeting included representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
The participants noted the importance of the efforts made by Russia to help Syria in facing terrorism, and the humanitarian actions it is carrying out with Belarus and Armenia to provide aid to the Syrian people.
The participants touched on the concerns of CSTO countries in respect of the use of terrorists who have returned from the Middle East as mercenaries in armed conflicts, and said, “We are drawing attention to the increasing risk of people involved in terrorist activities returning from conflict areas in the Middle East as well as from Afghanistan, to their countries, including CSTO member states, and using their expertise to carry out terrorist activities.”
The participants pointed out that the security councils will seek to expand cooperation in preventing the penetration of foreign terrorist fighters into CSTO countries.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
