CSTO secretary general voices concern over NATO presence in Poland — Interia
Collective Security Treaty Organization Secretary General Taalatbek Masadikov said that the CSTO is concerned about the increased military presence of NATO member states in Poland and the Baltic countries. He also mentioned the active construction of defensive fortifications in the region, Interia reports.
Trip to the Belarusian border
According to Masadikov, he recently visited certain sections of the Belarusian-Polish and Belarusian-Lithuanian borders at the invitation of Belarus' Security Council. The CSTO secretary general also said that he plans to visit one of these sections again in November.
The official stated that the CSTO is monitoring NATO troop deployments in Poland and the Baltic countries, as well as work on the construction of fortifications. According to him, the organization raises these issues during contacts with its partners.
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Fortifications on Poland's border
Interia links Masadikov's statement, in particular, to Poland's construction of physical barriers under the Eastern Shield program. According to the outlet, Poland plans in the future to create a modern 700-kilometer line of fortifications along its eastern and northern borders with Russia and Belarus.
There is already a line of fortifications 186 kilometers long and more than 5.5 meters high on Poland's border with Belarus. At the same time, Minsk is building its own fortifications on the border with Poland and Lithuania, including the so-called Khrenin line. Belarusian authorities previously criticized the Polish barriers, claiming that they affect the ecosystem of the Białowieża Forest.
Collective Security Treaty Organization
The CSTO was established in 2002 on the basis of the 1992 Tashkent Treaty. The organization includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and the Russian Federation — an aggressor state and the bloc's main force. Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan were also previously members of the CSTO, while Armenia's membership was suspended amid deteriorating relations with Moscow.
