The member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have expressed their readiness to provide assistance to Tajikistan in the event of an aggravation of the security situation on the border with Afghanistan.
The situation in Afghanistan was the central issue of the joint meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the CSTO member states that was held Thursday in Tajikistan’s capital of Dushanbe.
Secretary-General of CSTO Stanislav Zas said that member states, which include Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan agreed to deploy military forces along the Tajikistan border with Afghanistan to halt threats from terrorism as well as to conduct operations against drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
Zas underlined that if the security situation in Afghanistan deteriorates the “member states will provide Tajikistan with necessary assistance,” arguing that the country, which has a 1300-kilometer (808-mile) common border with Afghanistan, may be exposed to sundry threats from its neighbor after the Taliban’s power grab.
“Special attention has been paid to the situation in and around Afghanistan. Due to the possible exacerbation of the terrorist threat, a number of measures have been approved to respond to threats to the security of Central Asian countries,” the joint statement said.
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