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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Dear colleagues! We have had a full day. There have been two events today: an extraordinary session of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation [CSTO] and an extraordinary meeting of the Interstate Council of the Eurasian Economic Community [EurAsEC]. Both encounters achieved the results that we were counting on: we have made the decisions for which we called these emergency sessions.

The main theme of the CSTO session was the creation of the Collective Rapid Reaction Force. The urgency of this question is obvious. I think that my colleagues may have something to say about this in a moment. Obviously we made this decision precisely because there is very significant potential for conflict in the CSTO’s zone of responsibility. The Collective Rapid Reaction Force should be an effective, all-purpose instrument that can be counted on to realise security objectives throughout the CSTO. And these would include resisting military aggression, conducting special operations to eliminate terrorists and extremists, the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking, as well as dealing with the consequences of natural and industrial disasters. Because all of this will come under the jurisdiction of the Collective Rapid Reaction Force, we agreed that it must be very well trained, large enough to do its job, well-equipped, supplied with the most modern military equipment, and generally effective. As far as fighting potential is concerned, it needs the same sort of training as the troops of the North Atlantic Alliance.

In addition, it was decided to extend the authority of the Secretary General of the CSTO and to approve the organisation’s budget for 2009. Compared to the previous year, expenses have increased by 25 percent, which will make it possible to strengthen the military-technical component of the Organisation. In other words, we consider these solutions as an important step in improving cooperation within the alliance and ensuring the greatest possible coordination within the CSTO.

The other issue today was the extraordinary meeting of the Interstate Council of the Eurasian Economic Community. Here again the reasons for our emergency meeting are clear enough. We agreed to create the instruments that will assist states in overcoming the effects of the global financial crisis and will ensure economic stability. In this context, of course the most important thing is the decision to establish a joint Anti-Crisis Fund of approximately $10 billion. For states seeking to avail themselves of the services of the fund, the money will be a straightforward and relatively accessible way of resolving some short-term problems, of filling the vacuum created, for example, by the absence of certain revenues. The fund will enable states to take out stabilisation loans or resort to so-called sovereign borrowing.

The second decision that was made involved establishing an international centre of high technology. Its purpose is to stimulate the relevant parts of the high-tech industry. The business of the centre will be to enhance the competitive advantage of our countries and our economies in order to create effective models of cooperation. In addition, of course such projects help diversify our economic potential, because we must be more than just suppliers of raw materials. For the member states of the EurAsEC, the intellectual component has always been a key factor for development, and we need to put it to full use.

A number of organisations will act as co-founders of the centre. The supervisory board will include the heads of relevant ministries and agencies of the EurAsEC.

I would like to conclude my brief opening remarks by saying that, as President of the organising country of the two summits, I am very grateful to our colleagues for their helpful reflections on all the issues and for their constructive approach to the discussion and debate. It’s normal to have such debates because we’re dealing with complex issues. But the most important thing is that we have unanimous agreement on precisely those issues that we came together today to discuss.

Thank you for all your hard work.

Question: I have a question for the presidents of Armenia and the Russian Federation: how will today's decision to establish a Collective Rapid Reaction Force actually improve security in the South Caucasus, where Armenia is located?

Dmitry Medvedev: I’ve already had a chance to speak. You go ahead and I’ll follow.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko: I’m sorry but we seem to have wandered away from the agenda. I would ask you to inform the media in more detail concerning the meeting of the CSTO, how the conversation went and the discussion developed more specifically, since you are the Chairman. Moreover, this is what we agreed.

Presdient of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan: Alexander Grigoryevich, I don’t think that we have to talk about our discussions here, especially those in a restricted format. Of course they are very interesting, but interesting for us, for the leaders, because we will come to the appropriate conclusions and make decisions.

If I may, I will take a stab at answering the question and say that the creation of a Collective Rapid Reaction Force will strengthen peace and security, and not only in the Caucasus. The creation of this force is the next stage in the development and strengthening of the CSTO, and is in the interests of all of us, the member states of the organisation. If we succeed in the next few months in creating this force, then the security of our countries will not fail to benefit.

Thank you.

Dmitry Medvedev: I have just a few words to add. We now have some units within the CSTO: they are called the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces. Of course they can be quickly deployed, but up till now no one has deployed them anywhere. And currently the value of this force exists only on paper. During our discussions at the end of last year and, most importantly, at today's meeting, we agreed to create a full-fledged, important, well-trained collective forces that will actually work together, be under a unified command if necessary and will be highly mobile. In normal situations it will function within the framework of joint exercises, which have never been conducted in the CSTO. So it will be well prepared, with top military training, and organised into national units. Russia is ready to contribute one of its divisions and one brigade to the force, which should give you an idea of the scale: this is to be a serious fighting force. As I said and Serzh Azatovich has emphasized, it will be equipped with the latest in military technology, which will make it the equal of similar forces, and this will of course be its main trump card.

Once again let me reiterate that we must move from rapid deployment on paper to a real military force, to the real Collective Rapid Reaction Force. Our decisions were taken with this aim and should be understood in this sense. We are all very happy about these decisions.

Question: Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko], I have a question for you. Today there is a lot of talk about the impact of the world crisis and the need for consolidation. Belarus and Russia have adopted a crisis plan in a bilateral format. Will there be a set of effective anti-crisis measures in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Community?

Alexander Lukashenko: The heads of member states have agreed that I should say a couple of words on this subject. I am the chairman of the EurAsEC at this point, so please forgive me for not repeating what has already been said here. Today in the framework of the EurAsEC, we examined two issues. The first involved the establishment of the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund. It is obvious that this fund has been created as one in a series of anti-crisis measures, the key element, if you like, in today’s crisis situation. Because in our countries what is most lacking today is money, in many, in almost all countries. We cannot even say that Russia and Kazakhstan, the two countries that have such large relevant funds, have enough money. As we can all attest, as everyone in the world is saying, because we do not know the depth of the crisis, because we do not know its duration or what effects it will have, we must do a lot of things tactically, without building a strategy.

On the first day of our meetings together in Moscow, Belarus and Russia tried to establish such a plan, and it turned out to be good and solid. Yesterday Dmitry Anatolyevich and I presented this plan to the Supreme State Council of the Union State [of Russia and Belarus], and it was endorsed. So the plan that you asked about has been adopted by Belarus and Russia, by our Union State.

Here we are adopting only its most distinctive element, but a very important one: to create a fund of 10 billion dollars (or, as Nursultan Abishevich [Nazarbayev] put it, a safety cushion for the member states), in case the situation suddenly becomes very critical in any of the states or in a group of states. For this reason the first item of our agenda was devoted to this topic.

And the second issue is the establishment of a high technology centre. We often say that only the strongest will emerge from this crisis. Nevertheless, the crisis will force us all to do what we have to do. The only ones who survive will be those who know how to work with their brains and their minds, and here of course high-tech is first and foremost. As part of the Eurasian Economic Community, we are already engaged with these issues, in particular insofar as biotechnology is concerned. Since Russia and Kazakhstan are strong in certain areas and Belarus is creating a high-tech park (it is already under construction), we have made such decision today. Armed with all this experience that we have decided to unite we will establish a high technology centre. Where will it be built? We have suggested Belarus. Nobody said no, and Dmitry Anatolyevich said that he did not object, although he was willing to have it in Russia, in Kazakhstan, and so on. This is still to be decided. We will discuss where to establish this centre and how it will function. But it is a fact that this project is directly related to the current difficulties. We have to prepare for the future even in such difficult times, and we cannot and should not think of the future without high technology.

We discussed the broader, long-range prospects with regard to anti-crisis measures, but because it was an extraordinary meeting, we were limited to a few issues. A regular meeting of the EurAsEC will be held in October-November in Minsk, and there I think we will be able to make decisions related to more fundamental issues.

In conclusion, I would like to say something about my personal impressions. Either life has forced us to adopt, or we just intuitively groped our way towards an effective way of working in recent years: here in a single day the CSTO and the EurAsEC have met, and given all the members of these organisations are the same this is indeed a sign of very close integration. We don’t normally say this out loud, but since I am here on behalf of Belarus I would like to say, speaking frankly, that this integration is in effect the military-political component of our Union. EurAsEC represents the second stage, as it represents today the economic base for the member states of the CSTO. And such a comprehensive discussion, although it is very painful and difficult, all the same allows for both conceptual and practical concerns to play a role in the adoption of integrated solutions to political issues, military issues, military development, the establishment of the special forces of the CSTO, and then provides all these with an economic basis. I can say in all honesty that after discussing the military-political bloc it was easier to discuss financial and economic issues.

I have another, very last observation to make, another personal one, because yesterday we were working within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. I want to say how sorry I am that yesterday the Russian media did not find space to cover this important event, the meeting of the Supreme State Council: there has never been such a Supreme State Council session before. I am not trying to take credit for this: most likely it belongs to the new President of the Russian Federation (and here again I am not saying this just to flatter him), but the Supreme State Council has been very productive.

And we took the decision about which we have been thinking for 10 years, the most important decision. We have been thinking about it for 10 years, sometimes flopping about, sometimes falling back in one direction or another, but we made it. We also made a number of other decisions. Why am I talking about this today? Because this is the path that the member states of EurAsEC will have to take and possibly those within the framework of the CIS. There’s no escaping it. And we are ready to share our experience (I think Dmitry Anatolyevich would agree with me) with the EurAsEC and the CIS. We are an integral part of these organisations and associations.

In short, the Belarusian delegation and I, as President of Belarus, will be in very good spirits as we leave Moscow today as a result of the first day of work, and what we did yesterday and today.

Thank you, Dmitry Anatolyevich, for having created these conditions and for the commitment that Russia has shown in working to solve the common problems of our organisations.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you very much, Alexander Grigoryevich. For once I would like to disagree with you: our media did in fact take note of our work yesterday and today I saw …

Alexander Lukashenko: After the Arshavin soap opera. But I have nothing to reproach you for. I do not reproach you, and I know how you reacted.

Dmitry Medvedev: I just wanted to say that the item was aired and that the newspapers of course reported this subject.

Question: Xenia Kaminskaya, who along with all the Russian media actively covered the Supreme State Council meeting yesterday.

My question is for Russia's President. Dmitry Anatolyevich, it’s a question about the fund. Given the current economic situation, for example, it is very difficult to obtain money and loans, and this applies to the European Union as well. The EurAsEC is creating a considerable crisis fund — 10 billion dollars. Could you explain how the money will be spent, who will have access to it and under what conditions? Will money be difficult to obtain?

Dmitry Medvedev: I have already answered this question in part. First, the most important thing is that we are creating this fund to grant loans on conditions of maturity, serviceability and recoverability; that is, on the same conditions used to give loans to our closest partners. This is not just a money bag, from which anyone can rifle what they like for any purpose – it is an Anti-Crisis Fund. And the idea of its creation, which first arose late last year, was connected with the situation in many states, in states closest to us that are in a difficult financial circumstances.

Alexander Grigoryevich was absolutely right when he said that the financial situation is difficult everywhere these days, that there everyone is short of money. But all the same our nations have different resources. Therefore, we suggested the establishment of the fund in order to support our colleagues and friends in the most difficult situation that might arise when there are in effect cash shortages, or situations where there is an urgent need to pay some social benefits, or do something else. The only condition is the participation in the fund, where the “controlling stake” contribution will belong to the Russian Federation, taking into account the size of its economy. Our other friends will also take part in the creation of the fund – the countries will make their contributions. At the same time I should draw your attention to the fact that that the fund will not be available for business needs, in other words it cannot be used to support one’s own business. There are other ways of doing this. Instead the money will go toward the implementation of very important government functions. Therefore, the primary tool to receive money is either sovereign credit, i.e. credit backed by state guarantees, or the second option, a stabilisation loan.

As for conditions – and these were the subject of a long discussion today – they should be acceptable for countries that are in a difficult financial situation. Of course these should be not just in commercial terms but rather acceptable conditions, namely the terms and conditions close to the ones applied by international financial organisations when issuing loans in similar situations.

Question: Previously someone mentioned that at G-20 summits devoted, as we all know, to global crises, Russia will act not only based on its understanding of the situation but also in the interests of its closest partners – its neighbours and allies. Can you say whether these latest negotiations clarified the positions that Russia will take at the G-20 summit in London? What exactly are these positions and did you make any specific arrangements with your colleagues on this matter?

Dmitry Medvedev: As far as I understand, the question is for me, is that right? Or is it for my colleagues?

Alexander Lukashenko: It will be you who will attend this meeting.

Dmitry Medvedev: We can go together. Other leaders periodically bring colleagues with them who are de facto involved, although they are not included in the G-20; maybe we will all go together.

You know this really is an important issue: it concerns our partnership, our consultations. We started discussing this issue in a restricted format at the EurAsEC summit that just took place but our discussions are not yet over. We are now turning to the informal part of our meeting — now we will have lunch and continue to discuss this issue. During the CIS meeting I talked about the fact that Russia would harmonise the position it adopts at the G-20 summit on 2 April in London with our closest partners, and this could not be otherwise. I talked about this in other formats as well — at the meeting we had at the end of the year in Kazakhstan.

In my view today’s problem is that this kind of position is not adopted by most states that will be taking part. In any event, I have not yet received any information from our G-20 partners about what or how preparations are proceeding. We are making our suggestions. We have our own approaches. It is, however, desirable that we start discussing the new architecture of financial security for the decades ahead as soon as possible. This discussion is proceeding extremely slowly and I'm very concerned. We have not received any suggestions, and there is not point in just going there to once again look into each other's eyes and reflect on the difficulties of living in a financial crisis. If we go it has to be to sign documents. There must be at least some momentum to create a new foundation for financial stability, the financial basis on which we will work in the coming years.

I therefore hope that a lot of work is still to be done and that we will receive proposals from our G-20 partners as soon as possible. That is what our people are waiting for, what, in fact, all states currently suffering from the effects of the financial crisis are waiting for. We need to work more rapidly and develop new conventions, new agreements, and new guidelines for the global financial system. Let's hope that this work will be successful.

Question: A question for the President of Russia. Dmitry Anatolyevich, in your opinion isn’t there a danger that Kyrgyzstan’s decision to close an American base will lead to the destabilisation of Afghanistan and the region at large? In other words, won’t there be a security vacuum in the region after the departure of the Americans?

Dmitry Medvedev: I think that of course this question should be first and foremost addressed to those who make these decisions. But I am certainly willing to reflect on this issue.

The decision to close the base was a sovereign decision taken by the state of Kyrgyzstan. The President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Salievich Bakiyev explained the motives behind this decision in his speech yesterday. Any official decision must be treated with respect.

With regards to the implications for regional security and our joint work to combat terrorism, I think that we can all invest further efforts in these activities. Ultimately, the issue at stake is not the number of bases along the borders. If this were to reduce the number of terrorists then that would be very good. But the fight against terrorism is not confined to building up military forces, although this is also very important. I believe that the fight against terrorism should be comprehensive. Both the Russian Federation and our partners in the CSTO are ready for this kind of work. The countries of Central Asia are thinking about this particularly seriously because they are in direct contact with Afghanistan.

But this needs to be addressed comprehensively. How? First, this work should be done on a regular basis with the involvement of all countries of the region. Second, it must include in addition to the military component – that is the use of force in combating terrorism, something that is also very important – it must foresee the development of the political system in order to eliminate the conditions that constantly foster terrorism in a given state, in this case Afghanistan.

It is necessary to facilitate the development of a modern political system but without forgetting the country’s cultural and historical traditions. Democracy cannot be imposed: it must mature.

Third, while undertaking joint actions in this area we cannot forget about other characteristics of the region. You cannot fight terrorism, drug trafficking and other major criminal problems in Afghanistan without doing the same in Pakistan, because otherwise there will be then an endless stream from one country to the other. Incidentally, I hope that our American partners are now aware of this, since the new President of the United States of America declared this issue one of his foreign policy priorities. We have been encouraged by the first steps in this direction.

Finally, it is necessary to carry out comprehensive measures, to hold special forums. We agreed to hold a special conference on Afghanistan in the SCO. I hope that this conference will be held and that it will have obvious practical implications. In other words, the Russian Federation and other member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Central Asian states, are ready for full and comprehensive cooperation with the United States and other coalition nations in combating terrorism in the region. This fight should be comprehensive and modern and be based on military and political components — only in this case will it have a chance of success.

Thank you.