Vladimir Putin considers Council of Baltic Sea States as authoritative structure

Within its 10-year history the Council of the Baltic Sea States /CBSS/ turned into a "powerful and authoritative structure". This was disclosed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in the course of the CBSS in Saint Petersburg.

"Today, when the world is facing new global threats, the CBSS can be and must be an effective instrument of the European policy, concerning the issues of international security," the Russian President stressed.

"Nowadays, such topical themes as exchange of information, coordination of military activities and defensive planning concern not only Defence Ministers of the region," the Russian president said.

In Vladimir Putin's opinion, "the necessity of the careful and attentive approach to the Baltic region is one of the key issues on the international agenda." "We have no right to repeat our past mistakes, which resulted in tragic fates of the region's peoples," the Russian President said.

"The Council of the Baltic Sea States has all opportunities for fruitful work," Vladimir Putin said. The Russian President was confident that the range of the Council session "turned out to be effective and in its essence, founded the basis for the autonomous regional mechanism to solve various problems.