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'INSTABILITY ROOTED IN EXTERNAL SUPPORT OF EXTREMISM'
Russia Today
http://rt.com/politics/instability-rooted-caucasus-situation-259/
Nov 1 2011
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has named regions
forming an "arc of instability" in the Caucasus and Middle East and,
consequently, causing major concerns for the body.
The organization is made up of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
"Events in Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and
Karachaevo-Cherkessia have had a destabilizing impact on the
situation in the Caucasus," stated CSTO Deputy Secretary-General
Valery Semerikov during a round-table discussion on Tuesday. He went
on to say that those Russian republics have become the "epicenter
of externally-supported criminal extremist activities" which shifted
there from Chechnya.
"In particular, serious problems that determine the state of security
in the Caucasus region are the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and efforts
to deal with the aftermath of the August 2008 crisis," Semerikov added.
The territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and the unrecognized
republic of Nagorny-Karabakh dates back to 1991. When Nagorny-Karabakh,
which used to be part of the Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, declared
independence, a deadly military conflict broke OUT. THE END OF THE
WAR THREE YEARS LATER DID NOT LEAD TO A settlement.
Recent developments, namely Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia
in 2008, added to the unstable security situation in the Caucasus.
Afghanistan, which is in close proximity to the CSTO area of
responsibility, is another part of the "instability arc", according
to the body's deputy head.
"There's been no progress in Afghanistan," Semerikov noted. "Only
last year around 7,000 civilians were killed."
The country remains a major stronghold of terrorism, he stressed,
adding that the withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan will
have "a direct impact on the situation in Central Asia". Together
with Pakistan, which possesses nuclear weapons, they could become an
"extremely dangerous source of tension."
Russia Today
http://rt.com/politics/instability-rooted-caucasus-situation-259/
Nov 1 2011
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has named regions
forming an "arc of instability" in the Caucasus and Middle East and,
consequently, causing major concerns for the body.
The organization is made up of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
"Events in Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and
Karachaevo-Cherkessia have had a destabilizing impact on the
situation in the Caucasus," stated CSTO Deputy Secretary-General
Valery Semerikov during a round-table discussion on Tuesday. He went
on to say that those Russian republics have become the "epicenter
of externally-supported criminal extremist activities" which shifted
there from Chechnya.
"In particular, serious problems that determine the state of security
in the Caucasus region are the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and efforts
to deal with the aftermath of the August 2008 crisis," Semerikov added.
The territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and the unrecognized
republic of Nagorny-Karabakh dates back to 1991. When Nagorny-Karabakh,
which used to be part of the Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, declared
independence, a deadly military conflict broke OUT. THE END OF THE
WAR THREE YEARS LATER DID NOT LEAD TO A settlement.
Recent developments, namely Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia
in 2008, added to the unstable security situation in the Caucasus.
Afghanistan, which is in close proximity to the CSTO area of
responsibility, is another part of the "instability arc", according
to the body's deputy head.
"There's been no progress in Afghanistan," Semerikov noted. "Only
last year around 7,000 civilians were killed."
The country remains a major stronghold of terrorism, he stressed,
adding that the withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan will
have "a direct impact on the situation in Central Asia". Together
with Pakistan, which possesses nuclear weapons, they could become an
"extremely dangerous source of tension."