MOSCOW. Aug 9 (Interfax-AVN) - Prospects for the development of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and cooperation with the organizations operating in the post-Soviet republics will be discussed at an informal summit of the CSTO heads of state, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha told journalists on Tuesday.
"We are now preparing an informal summit of the heads of the CSTO member states. It will address the existing global and regional challenges to our countries' security, the situation in the CSTO territory and, most importantly, the prospects for the organization's development," Bordyuzha said after he and Union State Secretary Pavel Borodin signed a memorandum of cooperation between the two organizations in Moscow.
As regards the CSTO prospects, the focus will be on cooperation with the organizations operating in the post-Soviet territory, including the Union State.
"We have something to talk about and joint measures to conduct," Bordyuzha said.
Military cooperation among the former USSR republics is necessary, as these countries have vast natural resources, Borodin said.
"Today Europe is getting 30% of its oil and gas from Russia, Airbus gets 62% of titanium from Russia and Boeing 42%. The current crisis is not an economic crisis, it is a crisis of territories and resources. The total world population is about 7 billion people, whereas we, the population of the former USSR, are 300 million, which is 4-odd percentage points. At the same time, we occupy 23.5% of the land, with one-third of global Chernozemic soil in our country," Borodin said.
The former USSR republics should hold a roundtable to discuss their security issues, he said.