Putin: CSTO to establish anti-drug structure

MOSCOW, June 23 (RIA Novosti) -- A special structure to counter the circulation of illegal drugs will be set up within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference following a CSTO session Thursday.

According to Putin, the CSTO summit considered the practical interaction of the CSTO with the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), NATO and other organizations. Putin said it was important that his colleagues confirmed their intention to cooperate actively within the framework of the organization.

The CSTO includes Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Armenia. The SCO includes Russia, Kyrgyzstan, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Heads of member states also decided to implement "a program for military-technical cooperation between the CSTO member states for 2006-2010," as well as on the intergovernmental commission on military-economic cooperation.

The next CSTO session is planned for Minsk in 2006.

The session decided to develop and improve the CSTO member states air defense, as well as to coordinate CSTO members' efforts in settling the Afghani post-conflict issue.