Foreign, defense ministers, Security Council secretaries discuss how to update CSTO military component
ASTANA. Nov 8 (Interfax) - The participants in a joint meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers and the Committee of Security Council Secretaries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Astana on Thursday discussed problems surrounding international and regional security and ways to update the organization's military component.
The sides also discussed coordination of the CSTO countries' foreign policy, steps to upgrade mechanisms to counter threats and challenges and also the development of the organization's military potential, the Kazakh Defense Ministry's press service said.
"The participants discussed ways to further update the organization's military component and draft decisions to legally formalize the status of CSTO observers and partners. They approved a provision on a CSTO crisis response center that regulates this center's tasks, functions and also the organizational and legal principles of its work," the press service said.
The sides also approved changes to the composition of military contingents and special operations forces of the CSTO's Collective Rapid Reaction Force and peacekeeping contingents and approved a list of joint training exercises of the CSTO collective security system's command centers, personnel and hardware for the period up to 2025.
Astana is due to host a CSTO summit later on Thursday.