The CSTO leaders noted the decisive contribution of the Russian Federation to the elimination of hotbeds of terrorism in Syria. This is stated in a statement adopted at the end of the CSTO leaders’ summit in Minsk.
“The heads of state note the decisive contribution of the Russian Federation to the elimination of hotbeds of international terrorism, which created conditions for ending the civil war and achieving a long-term political settlement in the SAR,” the statement said.
The heads of the CSTO also call for support to the process of de-escalation and stabilization of the situation in Syria. The statement stresses the need to intensify and give a truly comprehensive character to the “inter-Syrian dialogue aimed at consolidating all the confessional and political components of the Syrian society, its traditional institutions, connecting ordinary Syrians to efforts to establish a normal political life in the country, determination of the contours of the state structure for the post-conflict period and long-term perspective”.
In total, more than 20 documents were adopted, including statements on strengthening the defense potential of the CSTO and on supporting mediation efforts on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Declaration of the Heads of State in connection with the 25th anniversary of the Collective Security Treaty and the 15th anniversary of the CSTO, the agreement on cooperation in the field of information security and the decision to improve measures to combat illegal migration. The leaders also signed a plan for implementing the CSTO Collective Security Strategy for the period until 2025 and approved the CSTO emblem and flag.
The President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed to hold the next session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in the second half of 2018 in Astana.