The Speech of the Secretary of the Security Council at the meeting of the CSTO Security Council Secretaries

27 / 06 / 2019

Today, the Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Armen Grigoryan participated at the narrow format meeting of the CSTO Security Council Secretaries in Bishkek - the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic. Afterwards, the work continued in a plenary session. As a result of discussions, the signing ceremony of documents on the agenda took place.

During the meeting, the Secretary of the Security Council presented a speech on "Collective Security Challenges and Threats and Measures to Combat Them" in the framework of the CSTO Collective Security Council decision implementation on the “Additional List of Measures Combating International Terrorism and Extremism in the CSTO Format,” as well as on the issue of “Measures Towards Reducing Tension on the Tajik-Afghan Borderline.”

A fragment of the speech is presented below.

“Dear Colleagues,
First, let me greet all of you and wish fruitful work. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Kyrgyz side for warm reception and good organization of today's meeting.

Before the start of the work, I would like to congratulate our dear Valery Anatoly Semerikov on his forthcoming jubilee; tomorrow he will turn 65 years old, and wish him strong health, prosperity and new successes in his work.
Taking the opportunity, I would like to stop shortly on the current situation in the Republic of Armenia and the domestic policy being implemented by the incumbent government. Particularly, we have begun reforms of the judicial system at present. It is successful in economic sector. One of the most important indicators of economic stability in Armenia is the stability of the national currency - the dram, against the world's leading currencies. 2018 economic growth forecast in Armenia was 4.8%, and the inflation rate 2.7%. As you may know, in 2018 radical changes took place in Armenia. It raised the stability of Armenia's economy, and in 2018 the annual net growth was 5.2%. In the first quarter of this year Armenia's GDP grew by 7.1%, and the economic activity index for April was 9.2%.

Returning to our cooperation within the framework of the CSTO, I would like to gladly mention the fact of reaching consensus on the appointment issue of the CSTO Secretary General. The candidacy of Stanislav Zas, the State Secretary of the Belarusian Security Council, was put forward for this position, and we hope he will take office from January 1, 2020.

Dear colleagues,
Today, during the narrow format meeting one of our traditional topics of discussion was presented, as the relevance of fight against international terrorism and extremism does not diminish, despite the measures taken and the positive results achieved in some directions.
Threat of international terrorism and extremism lies in the fact that they are actually linked to other extremely dangerous criminal manifestations, such as drug trafficking, illegal migration, human trafficking, illegal arms trafficking and cybercrime. Comprehensive approach is needed for the successful approach to this evil, which must take into account all aspects of the issue.
Creation of necessary internal legal framework plays an important role in combating terrorism. In particular, the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia contains relevant articles that provide criminal liability for terrorism and terrorism financing.
The acting National Security Strategy of the country states that international terrorism with all its manifestations is a direct threat to the Republic of Armenia. At present, we have begun the process of developing a new National Security Strategy, in which the respective attention will be paid to this issue.

In fight against terrorism, we attach special importance to the expansion and deepening of international cooperation, as without this component, no state today is able to fight against this evil. To this end, the Republic of Armenia has joined international conventions acting in this area and actively participates in the activities of the CIS member states’ Anti-Terrorism Center. As you may know, in the CSTO member-states, including the Republic of Armenia, recently active phase of "Mercenary" («Наемник») operative-prophylactic complex of measures has been implemented.

The implemented measures once again demonstrated that the Republic of Armenia, for certain reasons, traditionally lacks the environment and favourable conditions nourishing the activities of international terrorist organizations.
Nevertheless, this is not the reason for stepping aside and being satisfied by the achievement already reached. We share the concerns of our CSTO counterparts, also realizing that our country is the closest one to the Middle East, especially to parts of Syria and Iraq, where, despite the obvious successes in combating terrorism, international terrorist activity is still very high.

In addition, our country is in a rather complex and non-homogenous region where there are unresolved conflicts and instability centers. We, of course, realize that the modern world has become more interconnected, and it is constructed so that no one can avoid the effects of global procedures and trends in the long-term perspective. Whereas, international terrorism is a global factor that affects the whole world.

Fight against terrorism does not only mean neutralization of international terrorist organizations activities, but also elimination of the consequences of those activities, creation of conditions in the areas suffered by the terrorists and establishing a normal rhythm of life there. Particularly, the Republic of Armenia, seeking its modest contribution to ensuring international security, sent a team of 83 people to the Syrian city of Aleppo this February. The group comprises humanitarian demining specialists, medical personnel, as well as persons providing security. The Armenian mission works in partnership with the Russian side and under its technical support. Earlier this month, on June 4, a rotation of the Armenian humanitarian mission specialists took place and currently its activities are ongoing in Syria.


Dear colleagues,
Under the circumstances, we consider it necessary to take practical steps in the CSTO format aimed at strengthening fight against international terrorism and extremism, taking into account the situation in the region of responsibility in the immediate neighbourhood of the Organization.

Improvement of mechanisms for coordinating our steps plays an important role in this process, given the dynamics of the developments. Most importantly, for all of this, we have a political will and necessary normative field on which we work constantly.
From this point of view, two documents are important, which we have approved today, and which will be sent to the heads of our states for the upcoming session of the CSTO Collective Security Council to be confirmed. These are: "The List of Additional Measures to Reduce Tensions on the Tajik-Afghan Borderline," and the “Collective Action Plan of the CSTO Member-States 2019-2021 for implementation of the UN Global Anti-Terrorism Strategy."
Within the framework of the “CSTO Member-States Representatives’ Foreign Policy, Security and Defense Advisory Program for the Second Half 2019 - the First Half 2020” relevant measures are also planned. So, in the direction of combating international terrorism and extremism within the CSTO framework large-scale joint work is expected.

Summarizing my speech, I hope that due to our coordinated efforts, the Organization will be able to effectively counteract international terrorism and extremism, thus solving the most important issue of peace and stability in the whole area under the CSTO responsibility.

Thank you for attention.”