Kirghiz President Discusses Anti-terrorist Efforts With Russian And Ukrainian Security Council Heads

At Wednesday's meeting in Bishkek (the Kirghiz capital), Russian Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo and Kirghiz President Askar Akayev discussed practical coordination of anti-terrorist efforts, and command and staff exercises of the Commonwealth rapid deployment forces this week. They also examined the activities of the Anti-Terrorist Centre having a branch in Bishkek. "Almost all the problems" of the material support of the Anti-Terrorist Centre's activities "were entirely solved" in the course of the Dushanbe extraordinary meeting of the security councils' secretaries of the states party to the Collective Security Treaty (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Tajikistan and Armenia) and other CIS countries' representatives, Vladimir Rushailo stressed. Speaking about the possible reinforcement of the CIS rapid deployment forces in connection with the anti-terrorist action in neighbouring Afghanistan, Rushailo said, "If the situation becomes aggravated, the Heads of State of the Collective Security Treaty parties will decide on strengthening these forces." The Russian Security Council Secretary pointed at the timely holding of command and staff exercises of the CIS rapid deployment forces. Ukrainian Security Council Secretary Yevgeny Marchuk participated in the Rushailo-Akayev conversation. He told journalists they had not considered Ukraine's possible participation in these exercises. Marchuk, who had attended in the Dushanbe meeting of security councils of the Collective Security Treaty member-states, confirmed Ukraine's active participation in the anti-terrorist actions. According to him, Ukraine is speeding up the ratification of several international conventions to solve these problems.