MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. The members of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a post-Soviet security alliance, plan to hold their own security conference akin to the Munich Security Conference, engaging global experts, stated Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Marat Syzdykov said on Wednesday.
"During Armenia's chairmanship [in the CSTO], an international security conference is planned to be held in Yerevan. This was Kazakhstan’s proposal at the time. We suggested creating an alternative. As you know, there is the Munich Security Conference, but their own issues are considered there and their agenda is different. But here our proposal was that all pertinent issues related to ensuring collective security, joint security in our shared space, be discussed in our own forum with the involvement of international experts," he said at the Valdai Discussion Club-hosted conference entitled "Collective Security in a New Era: Experience and Prospects of the CSTO."
The deputy minister also noted that this step will contribute to strengthening the CSTO’s recognition and authority. "There are all the components for this within the organization," said Syzdykov, pointing out that there is a large legal and contractual framework, including the organization’s contract and the CSTO charter. Syzdykov added that "the proposals that were made by us would allow us to build a further agenda in a positive way.".