Belarusian capital city of Minsk is hosting a regular meeting of the Military Committee of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The event started with a minute of silence in memory of Russian diplomat Andrei Karlov killed in Turkey, reported BelTA news agency of Belarus.

The meeting will sum up the results of joint operational and military trainings of the bodies of the CSTO security system in 2016, discuss plans for joint events to be held in 2017, consider suggestions on improving the joint exercise system, and outline the areas of further work to establish an interstate information cooperation system and ensure full-scale exchange of information among the command centers of the armed forces of the CSTO member states.

The meeting and the decisions it will adopt will be aimed at developing the military component of the CSTO.

Belarus has assumed the presidency of the CSTO in 2016-2017. Oleg Belokonev, Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian army, First Deputy Defense Minister of Belarus, took over the chairmanship of the CSTO Military Committee from Movses Hakobyan, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, who wished him success.

Movses Hakobyan noted that participants in the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council signed several important documents aimed at strengthening CSTO’s capacities, improving collective security mechanisms, and enhancing the work of the security bodies.

He wished the Belarusian side success in the implementation of the decisions adopted in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia.