CSTO chief: No need to engage CSTO to protect Tajikistan-Afghanistan border

Stanislav Zas noted that the rapid offensive of the Taliban, the takeover of most of Afghanistan, including the state border and the capital city of Kabul, as well as the actual change of power in the country significantly affect the situation in the Central Asian zone of the CSTO collective security and cause deep concern.

“The CSTO is closely monitoring the developments at the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border. The primary goal of the organization in the current conditions is to ensure the security of the CSTO member states. At the same time, the priority is still given to political and diplomatic mechanisms. If the situation gets worse threatening the security of the Republic of Tajikistan, the CSTO will use all the collective instruments stipulated by its statutory documents to help the ally,” Stanislav Zas said.

The CSTO chief informed that on 16 August he had a telephone conversation with Tajikistan’s Minister of Defense Sherali Mirzo and Secretary of the Security Council Nasrullo Mahmudzoda. “At present, Tajikistan’s security forces fully control the situation at the border and there is no need to use the CSTO mechanisms,” he said.

According to the CSTO secretary general, the CSTO Collective Forces have started preparing for the exercises to be held near the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border in the coming months.

“There is no doubt that the situation around Afghanistan will be one of the key issues on the agenda at the upcoming session of the CSTO Collective Security Council due in the capital of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe in mid-September,” the CSTO secretary general added.