Russian Ambassador: Significance of CSTO for our states, their  security and interaction on a broader scale is obvious

ArmInfo.  The significance of  the CSTO for our states, their security and interaction in the  broader scale is clear and obvious, Russian Ambassador to Armenia  Sergey Kopyrkin stated on August 17 in the resort town of Tsakhkadzor  at the opening of the third international CSTO Model-Conference.

"As I understand it, this conference has a more in-depth practical  nature, in particular hands-on experience with the methods of the  work of the Organization on the example of its key statutory bodies.  I think that by working through these issues, you, of course, will  better understand the problems that the CSTO has to face in  protecting our common interests. And finally, in my opinion, most  importantly such kind of events promote the establishment of personal  contacts, which lays a good foundation for further interaction, "the  Russian Ambassador noted.

In his turn, Ambassador of Belarus to Armenia Igor Nazaruk expressed  the conviction that this event is a good opportunity to leave  pressing problems, and devote oneself to the activities and further  deepening the defense of the CSTO. "It is very important to realize  that our Organization is really a structure that is aimed at  defending each of its participants from external aggression against  the member states of our Organization," Nazaruk said, expressing the  conviction that in the course of discussions constructive proposals  will be made aimed at improving the work of the Organization and  communication among members, as well as raising the awareness of  citizens about the activities of the structure.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazaev is  convinced that this event contributes to the right understanding of  the goals and tasks set by the CSTO, and which unfortunately are not  always clear and understandable to wider population. "Kazakhstan  chairs in the CSTO in 2018, and therefore it is also a good help for  the chairmanship, in spreading our tasks more widely," the Ambassador  said. At the same time, he added that each country, within the  framework of its chairmanship in the Organization, highlights  priority tasks that are of a complex nature. According to him, within  the current chairmanship in the CSTO, Kazakhstan singled out  cooperation in the military and military-technical fields as one of  the priority tasks. According to him, practically all the CSTO member  countries have good production capacities, and accordingly have the  best opportunities for the development of their armed forces under  rather difficult economic conditions. "In addition, there is an  absolutely remarkable and not a much updated line of activity - this  is the fight against new threats and challenges, where activities  such as combating cross-border crime related to terrorist activities  and extremist activities, including general tasks on developing  common measures to combat terrorism, "the diplomat said.

To note, the third international CSTO Model-Conference is taking  place in the resort Armenian city of Tsakhkadzor from August 17 to  21,organized by the public "Center for Public Diplomacy" NGO in  cooperation with the A.M. Gorchakov and with the support of the  Russian Center of Science and Culture in Yerevan.

The conference brings together leading experts in the field of  security and international relations. The organizers of the Model  Conference aim to attract the attention of the public and youth to  the problems of collective opposition to global threats and the  development of solutions within the CSTO structures.  Delegates of  the conference will be representatives of the countries participating  in the CSTO, as well as a number of other states.

Participants of the Model Conference will have an opportunity, in the  example of simulated conflict situations, to familiarize themselves  in detail with the principles of the CSTO's work, outlining their  vision of collective security problems to experts in the designated  area, and to test themselves as "decision makers" by presenting one  of the countries involved in the work of the CSTO.