UNITED NATIONS, July 19. /TASS/. Not only has the probability of further spread of terrorism and drug trafficking from Afghanistan failed to go down, but it also acquired new forms, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov said at a UN Security Council meeting.
"The main hotbed of instability in Central Asia is still Afghanistan. Despite the known encouraging changes in that country, the probability of the spread of terrorism, radical ideology and criminal drug trafficking does not only tend to go down, but instead acquires new forms," he said.
Tasmagambetov pointed out that the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, a military bloc of post-Soviet nations) records additional challenges stemming from "the signs of competitiveness for natural resources of that region, primarily for water, which may spark interstate conflicts."
"Despite the severity of the problem, we manage to maintain control in that area of responsibility," the CSTO secretary general continued. "The Organization focuses particular attention on monitoring and prognosing the likely development of the situation."
Tasmagambetov recalled that a working group on Afghanistan successfully functions under the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers and brings together representatives of relevant bodies of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as well as the embassies of Afghanistan and third countries.
"In this regard, we take note of how useful regular contact with UN bodies, as well as with special envoys of the UN Secretary General for Afghanistan and Central Asia, are. The exchange of views shows how close are both general assessments of the possible development of the situation in the region and in terms of concrete preventive steps," he said.
Tasmagambetov pointed out that the CSTO also implements some large-scale practical measures aimed at reducing tensions and reinforcing the Afghan-Tajik border.