YEREVAN, November 23. /TASS/. Increasing cohesion within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will be one of the priorities for Belarus after it assumes the presidency of this international alliance, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Wednesday at an expanded meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council.
"In the current circumstances, we see the following fundamental goal during Belarus’ presidency, and - on the domestic track - it is to increase cohesion between CSTO member states," Lukashenko said.
The Belarusian president added that Minsk’s goals are "to enhance cohesion, to reduce tensions and to resolve disputes between countries in order to consolidate the organization and to ensure security and stability in its area of responsibility."
According to Lukashenko, as far as the external track is concerned, Belarus aims to enhance the CSTO’s role and significance in the system of international relations.
"They are not very eager to acknowledge us, especially our main, let us say, rivals - the NATO members. No matter what we suggest to NATO member states or to the collective West, they distance themselves from us. However, there are very serious developments within the SCO and the CIS," the president said.
"Well, the European leaders have already noticed us. They may call us ‘paper tigers’ but once we are noticed, it means we exist. And we have to go in this direction."
Lukashenko said that the CSTO should be able to respond to information and psychological warfare, which are extensively used by the West in the information war, and to reinforce the analytical component.