Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in an online extraordinary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council, which focused mainly in the sitution in and atound Afghanistan. In his speech, Aleksandr Lukashenko specifically emphasized the need for the CSTO countries to adopt a common position:

(soundbite)

I do concur with the proposal to work out a common position. We need to discard all formalities and agree on the common position by the summit in Dushanbe [scheduled for mid-September. Let's be sincere: for the time being this position is like this ‘let's wait and see what happens next and then respond accordingly’. This is wrong. Of course, we will be watching what happens next. However, we need to clearly understand that given the information and the facts that we heard today, we need to develop a common position rather than issue all kinds of calls and statements. Otherwise, it might be too late to do something to rectify the situation.

The head of state assured that although Belarus is not geographically close to and does not border on Afghanistan, the country will follow the agreed common position within the CSTO. “There is no other way out. Under no circumstances should we try to stay aside just because we are far away. We are not far away. Our planet is small and cramped, and the world has gone mad. No one knows what will happen next. President Putin is right. It is better to stand in solidarity and act together. Then our voice will be heard,” the Belarusian leader said.