A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was held in Bishkek. The work was attended by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, heads and representatives of the military departments of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
Armenia refused to attend the event. Yerevan announced at the beginning of 2024 that it was freezing its participation in the pro-Russian structure.
Russian Defense Minister Belousov reported that there has been an increase in the activities of extra-regional countries in the South Caucasus.
“Its goal is not to strengthen security, but to expand its influence here,” Belousov emphasized.
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, in turn, noted with concern the high level of militarization of Eastern European countries.
“All the ongoing large-scale processes of militarization of the region, the open competition for the status of the dominant military and political force that has unfolded in Europe, are viewed by us as a potential external military threat that, under certain conditions, could lead to a military conflict,” Khrenin shared.
