Lukashenko calls to strengthen CSTO's peacekeeping capacity

We need to build up the peacekeeping capacity of the CSTO, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a special session of the CSTO Collective Security Council on 10 January, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon had previously repeatedly mentioned the risks and threats associated with the setting up of sleeper cells of terrorists and extremists in the Central Asian region

"We took note of this, but probably underestimated the risks. We probably thought that this problem would blow away. Now we see that professional terrorist fighters made the backbone of the protesters in Kazakhstan. This is a very dangerous trend,” the head of state emphasized.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the decision to deploy collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan was prompt and efficient . "I am sure that our efforts had a sobering effect on the destructive elements. The whole world saw our close allied ties, efficient and capacities of the organization," the president said.

"We are facing serious challenges in the future. Therefore, we need to reinforce the CSTO. We need to build up all its components and, above all, the peacekeeping capacity. It is very important that we maintain mobility and efficiency of actions," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko urged not to heed to the opinion of the West or its individual states. "We need to deal with our own issues and our own security," the Belarusian leader stressed. “When the West encounters the slightest problems, they do not think about democracy, do not look back at us, but act in accordance with their own interests. We also need to act like that. We acted tough from the first minutes, we got the result .”