"We registered our organization in the UN and applied for observer status," Bordyuzha reported. Last year, leaders of the CSTO member nations set up a standing council and a head office, worked out a common visa policy, reached an agreement on the establishment of a coordinating council for national anti-drug agencies, and undertook joint efforts to counter political and religious extremism, he said.
Work is getting underway to set up information defenses against modern-day threats and challenges, Bordyuzha said. Specifically, an international media forum has recently been held in Moscow to discuss ways in which the mass media could counter terrorism and drugs trafficking.
Speaking of the agenda of the CSTO presidential summit, to be held in the Kazakh capital of Astana later this month, Bordyuzha said that it would be dominated by issues such as mutual prevention of classified information leaks, the training of military personnel, and further military buildup of the organization. The CSTO's peacekeeping capabilities may also feature on the agenda, he said.
The CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization is currently considering the possibility of introducing uniform standards for the armed forces of all the member states, Bordyuzha reported. According to him, there is no clear-cut vision for CSTO's military component just yet, but some specific proposals on common army standards can be translated into the reality at this point already, notably in areas such as armament, military hardware, combat training, and army staff structure.
"The transition to uniform standards is an imperative. If we contemplate the possibility of conducting joint combat operations, we have to solve the issue of their compatibility," the CSTO Secretary-General pointed out. He said the member states had already reached consensus on harmonizing standards in armaments, hardware, and combat training.
Speaking of NATO, Bordyuzha said CSTO did not look upon the North Atlantic alliance as an adversary and that the two organizations had quite a few levers to prevent a clash between each other.
As he passed on to the U.S.-led Coalition's base in Kyrgyzstan, Bordyuzha said he did not see this as a cause for worry. The forces deployed there are meant for air protection of operations in Afghanistan, which are in Russia's as well as the Coalition's interests, he noted.
He then shared with the media his opinion on the planned transfer of control over the Tajik-Afghan border to Tajikistan. The handover is unlikely to have any negative impacts, he believes.
"In my view, the scheme that has been developed today-joint control of the Tajik-Afghan border in cooperation with Russian guards-will not let the border control system collapse," the CSTO Secretary-General pointed out. According to Bordyuzha, Russian border guards will continue their presence in the region even after the overall control is transferred to the Tajik side. "A group of Russian advisers and a number of operative groups will stay behind," he said.
At the same time, one should bear in mind that "the system of border control and the system of border service in Russia is better developed," Bordyuzha said, adding that the continued presence of Russian advisers and operative groups would serve as a cushion against any emergencies.
