The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is ready to consider India's appeal for the status of a CSTO observer or partner, Russian Permanent Representative to the CSTO Mikael Agasandyan has said.
Notably, on January 31, the new Russian ambassador to New Delhi, Denis Alipov, said that Moscow was interested in strengthening India-CSTO ties and stated that contacts had already been established, according to Sputnik.
"In this regard, I would also like to note that since last year, the institutes of an observer to the CSTO and a partner of the CSTO began to operate in our organization, and the latter status is more 'advanced' in the framework of cooperation, as well as rights and obligations ... We are not going to impose ourselves on anyone, but we are ready to constructively and promptly consider relevant requests from third countries and organizations as they are received," Agasandyan said when asked whether the CSTO plans to strengthen ties with India.
The CSTO is open to the development of mutually beneficial and good neighbourly relations both with other international and regional organizations and with other countries that follow the norms and principles of international law, including the UN Charter, the diplomat added, reported the news agency.
Among these countries is India, which is one of the leading power on the world stage and has special interests in the Eurasian space, Agasandyan said.
Earlier, The first India-Central Asia Summit, hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in virtual format was attended by five presidents -- Kazakhstan's Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbekistan's Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajikistan's Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan's Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and Kyrgyz Republic's Sadyr Japarov.
Noting that Central Asia is central to India's vision of an integrated and stable extended neighbourhood, Modi said that mutual cooperation has achieved many successes over the past three decades. He called for defining an ambitious vision for the coming years.
( With inputs from ANI )
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