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CSTO preparing risk-reduction measures after NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan

CSTO members criticized the activity of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, whose objective was to combat terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking

DUSHANBE, March 27. /ITAR-TASS/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) does not rule out the deterioration of the situation in Central Asia and Afghanistan after withdrawal of NATO forces scheduled for 2014. It is working out a number of preventive measures to reduce such risks, Deputy CSTO Secretary Khairullo Latypov said at an international conference which addressed security problems in Central Asia in the conditions of the modern world order.

"The CSTO has rather serious military, military-political and humanitarian elements, as well as information infrastructure, to be able to ensure security in the zone of its responsibility in Central Asia," Latypov said.

Participants in the conference criticized the activity of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, whose objective was to combat terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking. Kazakhstan's ambassador to Tajikistan Agybai Smagulov said in this connection that "the international force has not fulfilled its objectives to eliminate the terrorist threat," which could spread across the region and augment the existing risks."

Head of the Russian diplomatic mission in Dushanbe Igor Lyakin-Frolov expressed bewilderment over the White House's decision to stop cooperation with Russia in combating drug-trafficking in the face of growing drug expansion from Afghanistan.

Tajikistan representative, First Deputy Chief of the republic's General Staff Maj-Gen Takhir Khairullayev said a priority was to turn to the multi-million group of young people, as part of them became "hostages of hostile web resources amid information wars."

"To destabilize the situation, information war specialists resort to lies and distortion of reality, bringing together people and planting in them false information in order to make them come out into the street and oust their governments," Khairullayev said.

"That is why we need new unconventional propaganda methods among youngsters, new forms of communication, new technology and a strategy of information countermeasures," the Tajik general underlined.

Taking part in the discussion are prominent researchers and political scientists of the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and a number of other countries. Conference participants are expected to adopt a resolution.