Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko calls on CSTO to adopt common position on Afghanistan

MINSK, 23 August (BelTA) - The CSTO countries should adopt a common position on Afghanistan, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at an extraordinary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council on 23 August, BelTA has learned.

“I concur with the proposal to work out a common position. We need to discard all formalities and agree on the common position by the summit in Dushanbe [scheduled for mid-September. Let's be sincere: for the time being this position is like this ‘let's wait and see what happens next and then respond accordingly’. This is wrong. Of course, we will be watching what happens next. However, we need to clearly understand that given the information and the facts that we heard today, we need to develop a common position rather than issue all kinds of calls and statements. Otherwise, it will be too late to do something to rectify the situation,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The president stated that Belarus was not as deeply immersed in the Afghan events as Tajikistan or Russia. "We did not ban anyone, including the Taliban, did not support anyone as we were not so much involved in the Afghan events. But I remember what Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon repeatedly said at the CSTO meetings. He always reminded us that Afghanistan was a dangerous place on the map and cited specific facts," the head of state noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko added that the leader of Tajikistan was right. “We need to react to the unfolding situation. We need to produce a careful response, as we do not know how events will develop further. Let us just admit that we are a bit late on Tajikistan's (read: CSTO’s) border with Afghanistan. We need to make up for the lost time,” the president stressed.

The head of state assured that although  Belarus is not geographically close to and does not border on Afghanistan, the country will follow the agreed common position within the CSTO. “There is no other way out. Under no circumstances should we try to stay aside just because we are far away. We are not far away. Our planet is small and cramped, and the world has gone mad. No one knows what will happen next. President Putin is right. It is better to stand in solidarity and act together. Then our voice will be heard,” the Belarusian leader said.

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