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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Today, following my suggestion, a meeting was held between the Security Council secretaries of CSTO member states to address the situation in Kyrgyzstan. I would like you to report on the results of the meeting, the conclusions you reached, and suggestions you have.

Security Council Secretary NIKOLAI PATRUSHEV: Mr President, in line with your instructions, today we had consultations of CSTO Security Council secretaries. The discussions and consultations were very engaging. Nearly everyone participated actively, including the representative from Kyrgyzstan, who told us about how the situation is unfolding.

Dmitry Medvedev: Who was the representative from Kyrgyzstan?

Csto Secretary General NIKOLAI BORDYUZHA: The Plenipotentiary Envoy of the Kyrgyz Republic to the CSTO.

Dmitry Medvedev: In other words, this is the person vested with all the necessary powers, who is in contact with the Interim Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. 

Nikolai Patrushev: Yes. He gave us an account of his understanding of the situation in Kyrgyzstan. Next, there was an active exchange of opinions and an analysis of the situation. As a result, we have adopted documents that we find important, submitted statements to the media, and developed measures that should help stabilise the situation. This is a draft package of measures that will be sent to the CSTO presidents, and if approved – we very much hope that this will happen soon – the implementation of these measures should help to normalise the situation in general.

Dmitry Medvedev: This is certainly an issue requiring approval from the presidents. I will personally examine your suggestions very carefully. Nevertheless, to the extent that we can reveal this information right now, what are these measures? Because this is an important issue.

Nikolai Bordyuzha: First and foremost, it is providing immediate assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic’s military and law enforcement agencies. Currently, the Kyrgyz Republic has sufficient forces but is lacking special equipment, special vehicles, helicopters and transport for redeploying its rapid response units. They also require other logistics equipment, as well as fuel and lubricants. Generally speaking, if we offer this emergency assistance today, we hope that it will work as a primary measure to end mass rioting.

Still, we are suggesting a range of measures. In addition to providing assistance, there will also be a joint effort to find those who organised these riots and bring them to criminal justice. We will also create an information influence on the general public to facilitate reconciliation. There are other most specific measures too.

In essence, the draft resolution contains a plan of high-priority steps that in our opinion will lead to stabilisation.

Dmitry Medvedev: I very much hope that is the case. Let’s analyse everything that you have prepared. Even the very fact that the CSTO Security Council secretaries came together so quickly to look into this issue is good for both Kyrgyzstan and the CSTO. In earlier cases, we were much slower in taking these steps.

Right now, the situation truly is intolerable. I have already given all my assessments. People have been killed, the bloodshed has continued, and there have been massive riots fuelled by ethnic tensions, which is extremely dangerous in Central Asia. Thus, all possible measures must be taken to suppress these kinds of actions in accordance with the law, and they must be tough. That is what I said yesterday to Acting President and Prime Minister Roza Otunbayeva.

Of course they should be helped in overcoming current problems. You have developed response measures and suggestions. Now, it is up to the CSTO presidents to act. 

If necessary, I will join in on these efforts myself. At the same time, we understand that this is a matter of what makes sense. If everything follows a fairly clear scenario, then these measures will probably suffice. However, if the situation continues to deteriorate, I am not excluding the possibility of another meeting of Security Council secretaries or even convening an emergency meeting of the CSTO heads of state.

And so, let’s continue our efforts. We should inform the media of our results and have further consultations with all of our partners.

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