China News Agency, Moscow, May 24 (Zhang Yuchen and Tian Bing) On May 24, local time, the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization held an online meeting.
The participants discussed the CSTO military and political situation, the situation in Ukraine, and made recommendations on how to deal with threats and challenges.
The defense ministers of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, CISO Secretary-General Zas and Chief of Staff of the CSTO Joint Staff Sidorov attended the meeting.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at the meeting that the current collective security situation in Eastern Europe has deteriorated significantly.
NATO's continuous eastward expansion is pressing towards Russia's border, and Ukraine is striving to join NATO as a tool to put pressure on Russia.
In addition, the United States violated its international obligations by secretly conducting biological testing programs in Ukraine.
Shoigu said that the West has urgently provided Ukraine with a large amount of weapons and equipment, spreading false information to the international community and covering up the real source of the crisis.
At the same time, a large number of military advisers and employees of private military companies were sent to Ukraine, and the number of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine has exceeded 6,000.
He emphasized that despite the large-scale assistance provided by the West to Ukraine and the pressure on Russia to impose sanctions, Russia will continue to carry out special military operations until all established tasks are completed.
Shoigu said that the Russian military will not strike civilian facilities that may have civilians, but will use high-precision weapons to strike exposed enemy positions and military targets.
The Russian side implemented a "silent system" and opened humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from besieged points.
He said Russia would try to avoid civilian casualties, although it would slow the attack.
Shoigu said that the area around the CSTO is forming a breeding ground for long-term tensions.
In this case, the collective security system, decision-making mechanism and crisis response and other forces and means need to be clearly coordinated and continuously improved.
Shoigu said that Western countries are deliberately sabotaging relations between CSTO countries and putting pressure on Russian allies.
Therefore, the CSTO should be more united, coordinate its actions more actively and precisely, and further develop cooperation in various fields of the organization.
Russia will continue to provide its allies with the necessary assistance to neutralize threats and preserve sovereignty.
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