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BISR analyst Andrei Chernobay: The President of Belarus has the moral right to raise acute and sometimes even uncomfortable issues in the CSTO

The Belarusian President is the most experienced politician among all leaders of the CSTO states, and he has the moral right to raise very acute, sometimes even uncomfortable issues. But he does not just raise them, but sets directions, ways to solve them. This was said to the sb.by portal by Andrei Chernobay, analyst at the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research, as he commented on the meeting of the President of Belarus with the secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO member states, on June 8, and the meeting of the Committee of secretaries of the CSTO Security Councils.

The expert draws attention to the significance of the event: it is not often that the Head of the Belarusian state meets with the heads of the Security Councils of the entire CSTO. But given the presidency of our country in the Organization, such meeting was necessary. Same as the tone it set:

Our President is the most experienced politician among all leaders of the CSTO states, and he has the moral right to raise very acute, sometimes even uncomfortable issues. But he does not just raise them, but sets directions, ways to solve them. Indeed, by the time of our presidency, many problems had accumulated both on the outer contour and inside the Organization. The President has has said this many times. And the most remarkable question is, of course, the question of the need to develop a new strategy for the collective security of the CSTO countries: new threats have emerged that must be taken into account.

The strategy itself will become the basis for planning and developing the entire collective security system in all directions, the BISR analyst notes:

In the military area, in the political area, in the fight against transnational challenges and threats. We are also talking about economic and military-technical cooperation, information security, the fight against cross-border crime, illegal migration. The direction of biological safety has appeared. Updating the strategy is necessary for all our countries. Please note: since 2016 – the time of adopting the current collective security strategy – Belarus has faced serious challenges and threats to its security, then Kazakhstan. In addition, the contradictions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have worsened, and border issues between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are becoming more acute. I'm not talking about a radical change in the situation in the Eastern European region (special military operation, NATO expansion), which will have an impact on each of its countries. Therefore, the document must be updated, and the assessments and messages voiced at the meeting are more relevant than ever.