Russian defence minister envisages no expansion of CIS security organization
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
21 May 04
Yerevan, 21 May: It is not planned to accept new members to the
Collective Security Treaty Organization comprising Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan . This was announced
today by Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov after the session of
the CIS Council of Defence Ministers.
“There are no such plans,” the Russian defence minister stressed. “At
present there are no applications from new members to join the
Collective Security Treaty Organization,” he concluded. In this
connection Ivanov recalled that the permanent staff of this
organization had been set up and was functioning in Moscow.
In addition to this, the Russian minister announced that following a
decision by the Council of Defence Ministers, the term in office of
the chief of the staff coordinating military cooperation of the CIS
states, Army Gen Vladimir Yakovlev, had been extended.