Alexander Lukashenka met with Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolai Bordiuzha on 9 September.
The meeting touched upon preparations for the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council that will take place in Sochi on 23 September as well as the Belarusian-Russian strategic exercise Zapad 2013 (West 2013).
"I would like to discuss several matters with you, which, I am sure, you are interested in. Those are the meeting of the CSTO heads of state that will take place at the end of September. And the exercise Zapad 2013 will take place virtually in the same period," noted Lukashenka.
Alexander Lukashenka underlined he would like to hear out Nikolai Bordiuzha’s opinion as well as opinions of the heads of state he had met with, their response to all the topical problems.
He underlined: "We’ve had too many information issues and other issues in Belarusian-Russian relations recently. I am ready to discuss the issues that may emerge due to that because the last month has turned out to be too violent in our relations, there was a lot of misunderstanding in this regard, and I would like to inform you and hear out your opinions".
Nikolai Bordiuzha informed Alexander Lukashenka about preparations for the Sochi-based CSTO summit in detail. In his words, the agenda has been prepared all in all. In particular, the presidents are expected to discuss several very important matters regarding the buildup of the force component taking into account the global situation.
The presidents of the CSTO member states are expected to discuss a package of documents regarding the development of the military component. The package includes decisions on creating the CSTO air force and the organization of control over the CSTO collective forces.
Apart from that, the heads of state are expected to be informed about the situation at the Tajik-Afghan border and will submit proposals to improve the effectiveness of Tajikistan-Afghanistan border protection. A group of experts from all the CSTO member states, including Belarus, has examined the protection of the state border with Afghanistan, the system and equipment levels of Tajikistan’s border troops.
Alexander Lukashenka and Nikolai Bordiuzha also discussed preparations for the Belarusian-Russian exercise Zapad 2013 in detail. Scheduled for late September, the exercise will involve a Belarusian-Russian military force as well as some units of the CSTO Collective Rapid Response Forces. Units of armies of other CSTO member states will be present, including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia. All of them will follow a common plan.
