Vadim Kozyulin: "CSTO and SCO are Capable of Countering Threats Such as ISIS"

“ISIS has found a way to the hearts of the younger generation and has elevated terrorism to a new level, and no one is currently able to counter it,” said PIR Center expert Vadim Kozyulin during a roundtable discussion titled “Information Security of the Eurasian Economic Union – A Condition for Political Stability,” which took place in Bishkek at the international press center “IA.”

Kozyulin noted that the gradual withdrawal of American military contingents from Afghanistan indicates a transfer of responsibility for the situation in the region to the allied countries and neighbors of Afghanistan.
– U.S. diplomats say that American interest in Central Asia is significantly declining. In the near future, all financial investments in the region will cease. This burden will be taken on by China, Russia, and Kazakhstan,” the expert reported.

However, he explained that Central Asia is within reach of China, Russia, Iran, India, and Pakistan, so the U.S. is very interested in controlling this region.

– I would like to note that the emergence of ISIS has become a new challenge for Central Asia. It is a much more flexible and developed organization even compared to the "Taliban." The strength of ISIS lies in its highly developed structure: the names of all regional governors are already known, they have a military council, and even a cabinet of ministers,” said Kozyulin.

He also added that very little is known about ISIS – even the approximate number of its members is unknown. According to the CIA, this terrorist organization has about 30,000 fighters, while Iran estimates it to be up to 300,000.

– Despite the fact that ISIS is growing stronger day by day, organizations like the CSTO and SCO are capable of countering this threat. The SCO is seriously fighting against terrorism, extremism, and separatism in the region. This organization has prevented more than 400 terrorist attacks, eliminated 15 leaders of armed groups, and over 400 terrorists have been put on the wanted list,” the expert reported. – As for the CSTO, this organization can mobilize nearly 1.2 million people. We saw how this year large-scale anti-terrorism exercises were actively conducted. In May, large-scale exercises were held in Tajikistan by the CSTO, aimed at demonstrating military power both to the Afghan side and to the residents of Tajik villages bordering Afghanistan.

According to the expert, in terms of combating information terrorism, a notable joint special operation by the CSTO and NATO called “Proxy” allowed for the identification of more than 57,000 extremist websites on the Internet, most of which were successfully blocked.

– To combat ISIS, it is necessary to find the sources of funding for this organization. The situation here is clearly ambiguous. For instance, 85 percent of the residents of Syria believe that ISIS is a project created by the hands of the U.S. A number of foreign media outlets report that several thousand high-class military officers trained by Israel and the U.S. have joined the ranks of ISIS. And I would like to note that this is not a version from Russian media,” added the PIR Center expert.

Information from IA:

The PIR Center is a leading non-governmental organization in Russia in the field of international security, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and disarmament. Since 2010, it has held consultative status with ECOSOC. The PIR Center conducts extensive scientific, organizational, consulting, and educational activities aimed at strengthening the role and position of the Russian expert community in the world and defending Russia's national interests at the international level.