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Russia-led security bloc agrees to fortify its southern borders, Tajik president says

The CSTO member states also decided to plan and implement a package of measures aimed at bringing down the level of and neutralizing potential threats in the organization’s space

DUSHANBE, September 16. /TASS/. Heads of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s Collective Security Council have agreed to strengthen the organization’s southern borders, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon said following the summit held in Dushanbe on Thursday.

"The participants in the session agreed to fortify the CSTO’s southern borders and continue to plan and implement a package of measures aimed at bringing down the level of and neutralizing potential threats in the organization’s space," he said. Tajikistan is holding the CSTO rotating presidency in 2021.

A meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council chaired by Rahmon was held in Dushanbe on Thursday. The leaders of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and the organization’s secretary general gathered at the Palace of Nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the event online. The heads of state signed a number of documents, including a declaration of the CSTO Collective Security Council and an agreement on legal assistance in cases related to the temporary presence of collective security forces in CSTO member states.

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