Six CIS Countries Hold Consultations In Moscow

Six countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which in 1992 concluded the Collective Security Treaty, held consultations in the Russian capital on Monday. Representatives of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan discussed preparations for the forthcoming session of their Defence Ministers' Council, scheduled for November 21, and for the November 28 session of the Foreign Ministers' Council. The consultations were chaired by Russia's First Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov. The meeting paid special attention to the situation in Afghanistan and around it. It emphasised that the Collective Rapid Deployment Force, recently set up by Central Asian countries of the ex-U.S.S.R., has already become an important factor of security and stability in Central Asia.