The increase in the influence of the European Union, the US, and Turkey on the countries of the Caucasus will create a new and greater source of tension in the region. Valery Semerikov, Deputy Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), stated this during the 19th meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries’ heads of the main divisions of the anti-terrorist organizations and the heads of the national bodies coordinating the fight against terrorism and extremism.

“The anti-war potential in the Caucasus region is as high as ever. I think that the increase in the influence of the European Union, the US, and Turkey will create an even greater source of tension for the countries of this region,” Semerikov noted.

According to him, a particularly tense situation has arisen on the western borders of the CSTO. Semerikov said that the main threat from that direction comes from Europe.