The United Nations has formally recognized a Russia-led defense bloc of ex-Soviet Union states as a full-fledged international security organization after the world body signed a co-operation pact with the security bloc paving the way for the alliance's greater involvement in Afghanistan.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon signed a joint declaration Thursday on cooperation in Moscow with General Nikolai Bordyuzha, head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which covers Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Among other things, the declaration mentions the CSTO's participation in U.N. peace-keeping operations, joint fight against terrorism, drug-trafficking, organized crime and illegal migration.
Ban said the declaration was an important step for the U.N. to consolidate co-operation with regional organizations, including the CSTO, which held observer status at the world body since 2004.
Describing the signing of the declaration as recognition of CSTO's role in maintaining global security, Gen. Bordyuzha said the post-USSR security organization could make available its rapid-reaction forces for U.N. peace-keeping operations outside the borders of the former Soviet Union.
Two years ago, the U.N. signed a similar pact with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but the 28-member trans-Atlantic Alliance has consistently refused to sign a co-operation agreement with the CSTO, which is often described as a counterbalance to the NATO in Central Asia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hoped the agreement would lead to practical co-operation between the U.N. and the CSTO in Afghanistan.
"This document lays down a solid basis for broader co-operation between the agencies of the U.N. and the CSTO that meets the U.N. Charter, particularly in Chapter 8," he said at the signing-ceremony.
He said Russia, as a member-country of the U.N. and the CSTO was hoping for closer cooperation between the world body and the CSTO on various issues, primarily on the terrorist threats emanating from Afghanistan as well as drug-trafficking, which threatened peace and security not only at the regional, but also at the global level.
The Russian ambassador to the United Nation, Vitaly Churkin, said the declaration had both practical and political significance for the CSTO, completing the creation of "a political and legal framework between the two organizations."
Russia's national security perception describes the CSTO as "a key mechanism for countering regional military challenges and threats."
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com