MOSCOW, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday denied claims that peacekeepers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) would be sent to Afghanistan after 2014.
"This information absolutely does not correspond to reality. Such a possibility is ruled out in principle," Lavrov told a press conference here.
According to the senior diplomat, all of CSTO activities were only targeted at ensuring security and stability of the CSTO member states and the region.
"Any other actions beyond our zone of responsibility, including in Afghanistan, are certainly out of the question," Lavrov said.
Transition of security responsibilities from NATO forces to the Afghan army and police began in July last year and will last till 2014, when Afghanistan is due to take over its full security duties from the U.S. and NATO forces.
Founded in May 2002 under the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), currently the six-member CSTO groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
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