CSTO Held Consultations on 67th Session’s Agenda of UN General Assembly

Consultations seeking to harmonize the positions of the CSTO member states on the agenda items of the forthcoming 67th session of the UN General Assembly took place on August 2nd in accordance with the plan of consultations among the representatives of the CSTO member states on foreign policy, defense and security. CSTO Deputy Secretary General G.N. Nevyglas chaired the meeting.

Consultations seeking to harmonize the positions of the CSTO member states on the agenda items of the forthcoming 67^th session of the UN General Assembly took place on August 2^nd in accordance with the plan of consultations among the representatives of the CSTO member states on foreign policy, defense and security. CSTO Deputy Secretary General G.N. Nevyglas chaired the meeting.

The consultations were attended by the heads of relevant departments of foreign ministries, member states’ authorized representatives to the Collective Security Treaty Organization, representatives of the embassies of the CSTO member states as well as members of the CSTO Secretariat.

The participants of the consultations called for closer cooperation among the delegations of the CSTO member states in the UN and discussed the priority issues of cooperation during the forthcoming session of the UN General Assembly. Special attention was paid to the problems of international security, arms control, supremacy of law in international relations and the concept of “responsibility to protect”, as well as UN reform, including the Security Council, the situation in Afghanistan, UN antiterrorist activities, multilateral cooperation in the field of environment protection, administrative budgetary issues and the forthcoming elections to the bodies of the UN system.

It was also noted that the United Nations Organization remains the pivot of international relations and equitable interstate cooperation. The UN has a unique legitimacy and all necessary powers in order to respond effectively to the diversity of modern challenges and threats. It is the UN that should take political, legal and moral leadership in the struggle against global challenges, establish just principles and standards of interaction, monitor their implementation as well as provide necessary aid and assistance to the states that need them.

The consultations helped to reconcile the opinions of the CSTO member states on the agenda items of the 67^th session of the UN General Assembly. The parties confirmed their commitment to the intensification of coordination and practical cooperation.