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WPS Agency, Russia
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 17, 2011 Wednesday
CSTO TURNED INTO A BLOC
by Alexander Gabuev
Source: Kommersant, August 13, 2011, p. 1
CSTO PATRONIZED BY RUSSIA TURNS INTO A COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY
ORGANIZATION; President Dmitry Medvedev visited an informal summit of
the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
President Dmitry Medvedev visited an informal summit of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Unlike the formal CSTO summits organized once a year in December, the
informal meetings of the leaders of the member states of the
organization do not imply adoption of any resolutions and signing of
documents.
In any case, according to results of the summit in Astana, presidents
of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
reached agreements that might transform the CSTO significantly. From
the amorphous organization that Moscow tried to pose as a Russian
counterpart of NATO for a long time unsuccessfully it might turn into
a strong bloc for combating of the threat being the most important for
all its participants now. This is the ghost of Arab revolutions that
roams the world.
Nursultan Nazarbayev who opened the summit with the rights of the host
announced immediately that "matters of global and regional risks for
security and stability of the CSTO countries connected with the latest
events in the world" would become the main topic of the meeting. After
the six leaders spent three hours behind the closed doors, President
of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko (Minsk is the acting chair of CSTO)
confirmed that for the major part of this time the leaders discussed
the ways in which the CSTO could help them to avoid experience of
their colleagues from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
Lukashenko said, "The fact that we should strengthen the CSTO became
the leitmotif of the event." He explained why he understood the
importance of the organization the post of the chair of which he
rejected so actively throughout the full last year so suddenly, "Many
lines of activities in connection with the latest events in the world
appeared for us. Including those taking place along the perimeter of
the Arabic arch, the African north."
Diplomats from several CSTO member states who prepared the meeting
reported that the topic of prevention of possible revolutions in the
responsibility zone of the CSTO was dominating during all preparatory
meetings. One of the sources said, "Whereas formerly some countries
perceived membership in the organization nearly as a burden, the
events in Africa sobered them up seriously and forced them to
understand that we were united by a wish to counteract to such
destructive trends."
A half of participants of the meeting is also united by another trait,
a long stay in power, which makes them similar to President Ben Ali
who have fled Syria, Hosni Mubarak put to trial and Colonel Qaddafi
hiding in a bunker. Nursultan Nazarbayev has been the president of
Kazakhstan for 20 years (he has actually headed the republic since
1989 having the post of senior secretary of the Central Committee).
Emomali Rakhmon has been the head of Tajikistan for 17 years.
Lukashenko has had the power in Belarus for the same period. In any
case, the topic obviously rubbed President Medvedev on the raw. After
the beginning of the war in Libya in February he said at a meeting of
the National Antiterrorist Committee that "Such scenario has been
prepared for us earlier and now they will try to implement it."
According to the sources, participants of the summit also outlined
directions of the priority measures for transformation of the CSTO
into a broad counterrevolutionary front. Some of them were voiced by
Lukashenko. He announced, "We agreed that we would work out
counteraction to the threats, primarily in the information and cyber
space by joint efforts."
If we bear in mind the role played by Internet services like Twitter
and Facebook in the Middle Eastern revolutions, the wish of the CSTO
members to struggle against cyber threats in cooperation is
explainable. For instance, Nazarbaev raised this matter at the SCO
summit in June offering erection of the walls of "national cyber
borders" on the path of the "destructive web forces." Some CSTO member
stated already accumulated a significant experience of blocking of
destructive resources like sites of the opposition or disconnection of
social networks and would definitely be glad to share this experience
with the partners.
Actions of the CSTO will not be confined to the cyber space alone.
Lukashenko announced that because of the difficult situation in the
world participants of the block "are ready to complete the process of
manning and arming of the collective forces of the CSTO."
Interestingly, in 2009 Minsk refused to sign the agreement on
establishment of collective rapid-response forces and objected to the
principle of a possibility to use these forces for enforcement of
order in case of destabilization in one of the member states lobbied
by Moscow.
Thus, the collective rapid-response forces may become a powerful tool
for protection of order in the CSTO member states including protection
of ruling regimes. However, it is necessary to ratify the agreement on
such forces adopted in 2009. If all documents are ratified by December
like it is promised by Lukashenko, CSTO will receive a new
configuration.
Along with this, experts, doubt that CSTO member states will manage to
organize a really strong counterrevolutionary bloc. Editor-in-Chief of
Rossiya v Globalnoy Politike magazine Fedor Lukyanov says, "If the
collective rapid-response forces receive a possibility to interfere
into internal conflicts, CSTO will become a counterpart of the council
of the Persian Gulf states headed by Saudi Arabia that acts in the
role of the main extinguisher of the revolutionary fire. However, this
is a two-side weapon and many countries of Central Asia and Belarus
will hardly wish to give a possibility to Russia to interfere into
their internal affairs. It would be sufficient to recall the
revolution in Kyrgyzstan when the CSTO could not do anything in April
when Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown or in June when the slaughter in
Osh began."
From: Baghdasarian
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 17, 2011 Wednesday
CSTO TURNED INTO A BLOC
by Alexander Gabuev
Source: Kommersant, August 13, 2011, p. 1
CSTO PATRONIZED BY RUSSIA TURNS INTO A COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY
ORGANIZATION; President Dmitry Medvedev visited an informal summit of
the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
President Dmitry Medvedev visited an informal summit of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Unlike the formal CSTO summits organized once a year in December, the
informal meetings of the leaders of the member states of the
organization do not imply adoption of any resolutions and signing of
documents.
In any case, according to results of the summit in Astana, presidents
of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
reached agreements that might transform the CSTO significantly. From
the amorphous organization that Moscow tried to pose as a Russian
counterpart of NATO for a long time unsuccessfully it might turn into
a strong bloc for combating of the threat being the most important for
all its participants now. This is the ghost of Arab revolutions that
roams the world.
Nursultan Nazarbayev who opened the summit with the rights of the host
announced immediately that "matters of global and regional risks for
security and stability of the CSTO countries connected with the latest
events in the world" would become the main topic of the meeting. After
the six leaders spent three hours behind the closed doors, President
of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko (Minsk is the acting chair of CSTO)
confirmed that for the major part of this time the leaders discussed
the ways in which the CSTO could help them to avoid experience of
their colleagues from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
Lukashenko said, "The fact that we should strengthen the CSTO became
the leitmotif of the event." He explained why he understood the
importance of the organization the post of the chair of which he
rejected so actively throughout the full last year so suddenly, "Many
lines of activities in connection with the latest events in the world
appeared for us. Including those taking place along the perimeter of
the Arabic arch, the African north."
Diplomats from several CSTO member states who prepared the meeting
reported that the topic of prevention of possible revolutions in the
responsibility zone of the CSTO was dominating during all preparatory
meetings. One of the sources said, "Whereas formerly some countries
perceived membership in the organization nearly as a burden, the
events in Africa sobered them up seriously and forced them to
understand that we were united by a wish to counteract to such
destructive trends."
A half of participants of the meeting is also united by another trait,
a long stay in power, which makes them similar to President Ben Ali
who have fled Syria, Hosni Mubarak put to trial and Colonel Qaddafi
hiding in a bunker. Nursultan Nazarbayev has been the president of
Kazakhstan for 20 years (he has actually headed the republic since
1989 having the post of senior secretary of the Central Committee).
Emomali Rakhmon has been the head of Tajikistan for 17 years.
Lukashenko has had the power in Belarus for the same period. In any
case, the topic obviously rubbed President Medvedev on the raw. After
the beginning of the war in Libya in February he said at a meeting of
the National Antiterrorist Committee that "Such scenario has been
prepared for us earlier and now they will try to implement it."
According to the sources, participants of the summit also outlined
directions of the priority measures for transformation of the CSTO
into a broad counterrevolutionary front. Some of them were voiced by
Lukashenko. He announced, "We agreed that we would work out
counteraction to the threats, primarily in the information and cyber
space by joint efforts."
If we bear in mind the role played by Internet services like Twitter
and Facebook in the Middle Eastern revolutions, the wish of the CSTO
members to struggle against cyber threats in cooperation is
explainable. For instance, Nazarbaev raised this matter at the SCO
summit in June offering erection of the walls of "national cyber
borders" on the path of the "destructive web forces." Some CSTO member
stated already accumulated a significant experience of blocking of
destructive resources like sites of the opposition or disconnection of
social networks and would definitely be glad to share this experience
with the partners.
Actions of the CSTO will not be confined to the cyber space alone.
Lukashenko announced that because of the difficult situation in the
world participants of the block "are ready to complete the process of
manning and arming of the collective forces of the CSTO."
Interestingly, in 2009 Minsk refused to sign the agreement on
establishment of collective rapid-response forces and objected to the
principle of a possibility to use these forces for enforcement of
order in case of destabilization in one of the member states lobbied
by Moscow.
Thus, the collective rapid-response forces may become a powerful tool
for protection of order in the CSTO member states including protection
of ruling regimes. However, it is necessary to ratify the agreement on
such forces adopted in 2009. If all documents are ratified by December
like it is promised by Lukashenko, CSTO will receive a new
configuration.
Along with this, experts, doubt that CSTO member states will manage to
organize a really strong counterrevolutionary bloc. Editor-in-Chief of
Rossiya v Globalnoy Politike magazine Fedor Lukyanov says, "If the
collective rapid-response forces receive a possibility to interfere
into internal conflicts, CSTO will become a counterpart of the council
of the Persian Gulf states headed by Saudi Arabia that acts in the
role of the main extinguisher of the revolutionary fire. However, this
is a two-side weapon and many countries of Central Asia and Belarus
will hardly wish to give a possibility to Russia to interfere into
their internal affairs. It would be sufficient to recall the
revolution in Kyrgyzstan when the CSTO could not do anything in April
when Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown or in June when the slaughter in
Osh began."
From: Baghdasarian