MOSCOW, September 9 (Itar-Tass) —— The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member countries have agreed to attach mediating functions to the organization, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha said on Friday.
“It is the question of mediating bilateral disputes between CSTO member states. As soon as disagreements appear, they need to be scrutinized, but only with consent of the sides,” he said.
If necessary, the CSTO may delegate the mediating functions to appropriate departments or specialists, who will expose the source of the dispute and will report their work to the CSTO Council of Chiefs of State, he said.
The issue has been discussed for over a year, and the new rule will be legalized soon, Bordyuzha said.
He noted that the CSTO had settled disputes before. “What is more, the CSTO documents already stipulate mediation, so only minor amendments are necessary,” he said.
Bordyuzha rejected rumors of a drastic reform of the CSTO. “None of the leaders of CSTO member states calls for profound reforms. We are suggesting minor changes, nothing else,” he said.
The CSTO will not interfere in internal affairs of its member states or act as a gendarme in the settlement of conflicts, he stressed.
“I strongly oppose any interference of the CSTO in internal affairs of sovereign states or acting as a gendarme. However, we will not keep silent if third states interfere in a conflict,” he said.
The use of the CSTO potential for the protection of the constitutional system by request of lawful authorities does not mean military operations, Bordyuzha said. “If we see that a country is on the brink of a disaster and peacekeepers start their mission by request of the national administration, the peacekeepers will primarily separate the warring sides. They will assist the local police to ensure law and order and to hold the disarmament process,” he said. “We have no other functions,” he added.