TBILISI. April 29 (Interfax-AVN) - Georgia does not consider its non-involvement in the Collective Security Treaty Organization a mistake, Deputy Defense Minister Gela Bezhuashvili told Rustavi 2 television on Tuesday.
"Georgia has made an absolutely right choice; it builds its security system on NATO values," Bezhuashvili said.
According to him, Georgia is unlikely to face any threats from the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Nevertheless, Bezhuashvili noted that "there is a need for a serious analysis of relations between Georgia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization taking into account the fact that two Russian military bases are located on the Georgian territory."
"Time will tell how efficient the organization will be," Bezhuashvili stressed.
He believes parallel development of two security systems, which are the Collective Security Treaty Organization and NATO, may take place in the region.
The Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was signed in Chisinau on October 7, 2002. The charter was ratified by the State Duma lower house of Russian parliament on April 25.
The presidents of the countries in the Collective Security Treaty Organization appointed Nikolai Bordyuzha secretary general of the organization and adopted a political statement on Monday.
The statement expresses the collective opinion on the geopolitical situation emerging in the world and confirms the readiness of the member-countries to contribute to the strengthening of regional and international security.
It confirms the need to strengthen foreign-policy interaction and military-political cooperation between the member- countries.
The statement says the military headquarters of the organization is to be set up by January 1, 2004.