Lukashenka goes to CSTO summit

On Friday the informal summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organizations planned in Kyrgyzstan, in Cholpon-Ata resort in Issyk-Kul region.

Unlike the summit in June in Moscow, all the heads of the participating countries will arrive to Issyk-Kul. Moreover, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who then defiantly refused to arrive to the summit because of the milk scandal, will arrive with his 5-year-old son Kolya, Izvestiya writes.

I the framework of the summit, as Russian president’s aide Sergei Prikhodko said, reforming the collective rapid reaction force and a new Russian military base in the south of Kyrgyzstan are to be discussed. "Almost all the issues concerning the military base have been agreed," Prikhodko said.

As we have informed, because of a ban of deliveries of Belarusian milk to Russia Aliaksandr Lukashenka refused to arrive to Moscow on June 14 to the CSTO summit. Moreover, after the meeting took place without him, he announced all the decisions adopted without him illegitimate. In a month and a half, he seemed to change his mind. The Belarusian leader will arrive to Kyrgyzstan, and possibly sign those "illegitimate" documents. It is not excluded that he would assume chairmanship in the CSTO which is to belong to Belarus according to the schedule. In June, Dmitry Medvedev adopted the functions of the chairman in Lukashenka’s absence.

As said by Sergei Prikhodko, Minsk didn't ask for a bilateral meeting of the presidents. Minsk hadn’t reminded about the loan fro Russia, at which they count upon greatly. A source of Izvestiya in the Kremlin told about this ill-fated loan (Belarusian authorities refused to receive it in rubles): "One day they want it, and another day not. And in general, we have a rather complicated situation in te economy now, so we should be careful with expenditures".

At the summit in Cholpon-Ata its participants are to discuss the CSTO’s rapid reaction force future. In the framework of this dialogue Dmitry Medvedev plans to raise an issue of creating a military base in Kyrgyzstan (Osh). "We are open to discussion on issues related to creation of this base. This base is needed in case some decisions would be taken in the framework of the CSTO. We view this base exclusively in connection with forming the collective rapid response force," Prikhodko noted, adding that everything had been agreed in principle.

Besides, as said by him, "the future joint complex military exercises of the CSTO collective forces in August-October are to become a serious step in the direction of practical establishing of the rapid reaction force".