Relations Among CSTO, EAEU, CIS Nations Devoid Of 'Diktat,' Unlike Those In NATO - Lavrov

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2018) The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have no practice of imposing any decisions on their members, which is not the case in NATO, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"There is no any diktat in our 'common home' of the CSTO and the EAEU, unlike in other alliances, in the North Atlantic Alliance. We have no diktat. We never impose anything on anyone," Lavrov said in an interview with Kazakhstan's Khabar Agency.

As an example, he referred to the fact that the members of these alliances frequently voted differently on important political issues at the United Nations.

According to the minister, the "absolute consensus," which is in contrast seen among NATO nations, is achieved through pressure and even threats.

"We know the price of a consensus in NATO. This is not a partner-like, not a friendly approach, but diktat. Yes, there is a minority that is always ready to listen to the 'more senior friend,' while all the others are simply persuaded, forced by threats, in different ways," he added.

He stressed that there was no place for such an approach in the CSTO, EAEU, and CIS, since the organizations were based on a "consensus of equal partners."

The EAEU, comprising Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, is an international organization that encourages regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services, and people within the union.

The CSTO is a security alliance aimed at improving related cooperation between the member states, namely Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.