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Nikolai Bordyuzha: The Collective Security Council will hold a meeting on June 23, 2005, and just before that, we plan to hold a meeting of the charter organs of the Council of Defence Ministers, Foreign Ministers and committees of the secretaries of the Security Councils. I would like to report on two areas: first, the steps we have taken over the course of the year to give our activities practical content, and second, problems and certain aspects of the situation that require a suitable response.

Overall, looking at the organisation’s work, we have focused principally on our main priority, which is to develop measures to counter the collective threats and challenges we face. We have planned our work around this task. Second, we have tried to move away from drafting various concepts, programmes and plans and concentrate our attention on practical activities. Of course, the main focus of our attention was on implementing practical measures to counter drug trafficking and terrorism.

I would particularly like to draw your attention to the “Channel” operation to eliminate drugs trafficking from Afghanistan. This operation was carried out in several stages and involved practically all the law enforcement agencies of six countries, principally under the direction of the Russian Drugs Control Agency.

The last stage involved the participation of Uzbekistan, Iran and Azerbaijan, which is particularly interesting. We really tried to model and put in place measures to create an anti-drugs trafficking security belt along Afghanistan’s northern borders. Our efforts were successful, in principle, and the results we have achieved show that this kind of collective action really is quite effective.

We also worked on improving the counter-terrorism potential of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) member states, focusing above all on specialist training.

As you know, work on preparing a training agreement within the CSTO had been going on for a long time. This work is now complete – the charter organs have approved it – and it will now be submitted for examination by the presidents of the CSTO member states.

Under this agreement, we will provide free training for military personnel from all the CSTO member states. In addition, in order to raise counter-terrorist potential, we have an agreement with the Russian Federation General Staff on organising training on security issues for representatives of member states’ executive authorities at the General Staff Academy. On the same line, together with the Russian Interior Ministry, we have organised training at the Interior Ministry Training Centre for specialists in peacekeeping, counter-terrorism and the fight against drug trafficking.

We also worked on military-technical cooperation. I can inform you now that aside from the Russian Federation, mechanisms for implementing the agreement on preferential conditions for military-technical cooperation have been put in place in Belarus. Other countries are also taking similar steps. The relevant instructions have been given and we can say that today, this work is genuinely moving ahead within the CSTO system.

President Vladimir Putin: So, you are saying that the recent decisions aimed at facilitating military-technical cooperation between the CSTO member states are being implemented?

Nikolai Bordyuzha: Yes, their implementation has begun. Russia and Belarus have already prepared all to necessary documents, all the legal regulations. The other countries have regulated or are working on some of the issues, such as price formation. In other words, this agreement is really working today.