MINSK, September 9. /TASS/. The military contingents of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) members may be stationed on Tajikistan’s territory in order to protect the Central Asian country’s border if the situation around Afghanistan worsens. This opinion was expressed by chief of Belarus’ Security Council Alexander Volfovich in an article published in the SB. Belarus Today newspaper on Thursday.
He emphasized that the events in Afghanistan may lead to a surge in transnational challenges and threats. "Any further deterioration and unpredictability of the situation would not exclude, among other things, a decision on deploying the military contingents of the Organization’s member states on the territory of Tajikistan in order to protect the Tajik-Afghan border as part of the Rapid Deployment Collective Forces of the Central Asian Region and the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces," he noted.
According to the official, it is necessary to "undertake additional efforts on bolstering diplomatic and military-political relations within the framework of the Union State, the CSTO, the SCO, as well as in a bilateral format with other foreign partners."
The Belarusian Security Council chief noted that the developments in Afghanistan were creating a hotspot of regional instability, which in the face of a dysfunctional international deterrence and security system may cause a new round of global tensions and develop into a large-scale military conflict. According to him, the events in Afghanistan are leading to a surge in terrorism-related threats, drug and arms trafficking and illegal migration. The official stressed that these risks, considering that they are traditionally directed towards Europe, directly concern Belarusian interests and demand preventive measures.
"Above all, this concerns the possible increase in the flows of Afghan refugees to EU countries and them being shoved into Belarus with the further worsening of the foreign policy background, the legitimization of members of terrorist organizations and groups in the Eastern European region, and the recruitment of Belarusian citizens by radical Islamist formations, and ramped-up criminal activities throughout the country," he emphasized. According to him, under conditions where a hotbed of instability was in direct contact with the CSTO area of responsibility, member states needed to have a clear, unified and effective position on responding to the emerged crisis.
Following the end of the US operation in Afghanistan and the pullout of coalition troops, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) launched an offensive and by September 6 announced that it had established control over all of Afghanistan. By September 8, the Taliban formed an interim government comprised only of the movement’s members.