MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is geared up to develop comprehensive cooperation with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and its relevant bodies on issues of ensuring the security of states, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Stanislav Zas said at the ninth meeting of CIS security council chiefs in Moscow on Wednesday.
"In this regard, I want to assure you that the CSTO, for its part, is ready to develop comprehensive cooperation with the Commonwealth of Independent States and its relevant bodies to counter modern challenges and threats to the security of our states," he said.
Zas recalled that at the session of the Collective Security Council held in Dushanbe on September 16, heads of the CSTO member countries highly appreciated the CIS activities, noting the necessity for enhancing close cooperation between the CSTO and the Commonwealth [of Independent States] to ensure security and establish favorable conditions for the comprehensive development of states and peoples. This topic was confirmed by the statement of the CSTO foreign affairs ministers adopted on September 15 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the CIS and the 20th anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).