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Putin to discuss threats of terrorism, extremism with CSTO leaders in Dushanbe

Also, the Russian president is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the host country’s President Emomali Rakhmon and Kyrgyzstan’s President Almazbek Atambayev

DUSHANBE, September 15. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending a two-day summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a security alliance of six former Soviet republics. The summit is due to focus on threats of terrorism and extremism.

Also, the Russian president, who arrived in Tajikistan’s capital city on Monday, is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the host country’s President Emomali Rakhmon and Kyrgyzstan’s President Almazbek Atambayev.

Both meetings and the CSTO summit itself are taking place amid an anti-terrorist operation launched on September 4 so unprecedented measures have been taken to ensure security.

CSTO summit agenda

On Monday evening the CSTO leaders met over a traditional informal dinner on the summit eve. On Tuesday morning a joint session of the Councils of Foreign Ministers and of the Defence Ministers and the Committee of the secretaries of the CSTO Defence Council is due to take place.

The key program of Tuesday’s session of the CSTO council envisages a meeting of the leaders in narrow and broad formats, signing of joint documents, and a reception given by the summit host.

The council is to discuss the CSTO activity alongside key regional and global issues affecting the member states’ security, Ushakov said. "Certainly, top priority will be given to an increased activity of terrorist and extremist groups, and the situation in general along the CSTO countries’ borders," he said.

More than ten joint documents are due to be signed at the summit, including the leaders’ statement on key approaches to the current international agenda. Ushakov said the statement would reflect concern over an increasing number of new challenges and threats and would underline readiness of the CSTO countries to intensify measures aimed at settlement of regional and international problems and at greater coordination in foreign policies and in the whole system of collective security.

After the summit, Armenia will take over the one-year presidency of the CSTO.

CSTO secretary general

Elections of the secretary general of the Collective Security Council and the chief of the CSTO united headquarters are expected to be among other issues of the summit agenda.

"Certainly, we stand for succession in governing bodies of this Organisation," Ushakov replied when asked if Nikolai Bordyuzha could be re-elected as the CSTO secretary general.

The Collective Security Treaty was signed in 1992 and the Collective Security Treaty Organization comprising Russia and former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan was established ten years later. The organization’s top priorities are "strengthening of peace, international and regional security and stability, protection of independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of its member states".

Talks with Tajikistan’s president Emomali Rakhmon

Scheduled for Monday evening, Putin’s meeting with the president of the host country has been postponed till Tuesday morning in favour of more contacts between CSTO leaders over an informal dinner.

The Kremlin called bilateral talks with Tajikistan’s president as natural amid developments in that Central Asian republic.

"Our president [in a phone conversation with Rakhmon on September 5] expressed firm support to efforts of Tajikistan’s leadership to bring the situation in the republic to order and ensure stability," Ushakov said. "Of course, we are ready to render assistance and political support. I think that this issue will be on top of the agenda at the meeting," he added.

Besides, Putin and Rakhmon will focus on "issues of further strengthening multi-faceted mutually beneficial cooperation in defence and national economy", Ushakov said.

Talks with Kyrgyzstan’s President Almazbek Atambayev

The Russian president is expected to discuss with his Kyrgyz counterpart "prospects for further bilateral cooperation in different aspects along with topical international issues," Putin’s aide said.

Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union will be in spotlight at the talks. The relevant treaty came into force on August 12, 2015.