MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-led security bloc, will be ready to offer its assistance if the European Union opts to send troops to Ukraine, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov said.
"This is not the first time when European capitals look at sending military contingents to Ukraine. However, such contingents are not officially present there. The reason is that this may create a dangerous situation for the region. <…> If such risks emerge, the CSTO will be ready to offer various options of assistance under the organization’s statutory documents and, naturally, approved by all of its member states," he said in an interview with the Izvestia daily.
According to Tasmagambetov, it is not ruled out that the European Union’s population will not approve the governments’ decision to deploy troops to Ukraine. This situation, in his words, may become a burden to society even if such contingents are mandated to perform only police or observer functions and are not engaged in hostilities.