Russia says Mideast crisis will inevitably affect CSTO region

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday the Middle East crisis will inevitably affect the Collective Security Treaty Organization region, state news agency Tass reported.

Pointing to crises in Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, he said those “who support chaos” in the Middle East are seeking to deepen divisions within the Islamic world.

“There is no doubt that those trying to maintain this chaos have as one of their key goals the deepening of divisions in the Islamic world,” he said at a meeting of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly Council in Moscow.

Lavrov said the CSTO, consisting largely of Muslim-majority countries, should take this into account in its practical work and programs.

He also warned that Eurasia is facing growing threats from forces “seeking to dominate the world through wars and intimidation.”

“Anyone closely following recent developments will see that threats in Eurasia are increasing significantly. This requires additional efforts from us,” Lavrov said.

He described the CSTO as a structure that could become “one of the pillars of an architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia.”