Ex-Soviet bloc seeks to join peacekeeping missions
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO),
a Russia-dominated military bloc, is seeking involvement in United
Nations peacekeeping operations and hopes to secure an agreement
during its session, which began Tuesday.
The post-Soviet security bloc consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Vitaly Churkin, Russian ambassador to the UN, speaking on behalf of the group`s member states on Friday, called for including such involvement on the agenda of the UN General Assembly session, according to the UN website.
Moscow believes that the UN will back its cooperation with CSTO with a special resolution, similar to the one the CIS bloc signed with NATO in September 2008. The agreement will allow CSTO to join UN peacekeeping operations.
Such memoranda are prepared by the UN Security Council and signed by the general assemblies of the two organizations involved.
The CSTO has had observer status in the UN General Assembly since 2004. According to the agreement signed by its members, since January 2009 the group has been authorized to take part in international peacekeeping missions.
According to the Armenia Today website, Russia is seeking to legitimize the CSTO`s future peacekeeping operations on the world stage. It said that, if the UN reaches agreement with the ex-Soviet bloc, Moscow would seek to station ``the CSTO`s peacekeeping contingent`` in Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation.
The post-Soviet security bloc consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Vitaly Churkin, Russian ambassador to the UN, speaking on behalf of the group`s member states on Friday, called for including such involvement on the agenda of the UN General Assembly session, according to the UN website.
Moscow believes that the UN will back its cooperation with CSTO with a special resolution, similar to the one the CIS bloc signed with NATO in September 2008. The agreement will allow CSTO to join UN peacekeeping operations.
Such memoranda are prepared by the UN Security Council and signed by the general assemblies of the two organizations involved.
The CSTO has had observer status in the UN General Assembly since 2004. According to the agreement signed by its members, since January 2009 the group has been authorized to take part in international peacekeeping missions.
According to the Armenia Today website, Russia is seeking to legitimize the CSTO`s future peacekeeping operations on the world stage. It said that, if the UN reaches agreement with the ex-Soviet bloc, Moscow would seek to station ``the CSTO`s peacekeeping contingent`` in Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation.
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