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Russia has offered the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a post-Soviet security bloc, to consider priority measures on fostering biosecurity cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday, according to TASS news agency report.

Speaking at a meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers via a video link-up, Lavrov stressed that the coronavirus infection is a serious test for the entire system of international relations and a challenge for every state and inter-state structures.

"Today we have to carefully analyze what conclusions need to be drawn in relation to our organization’s activities. It is clear that there is a demand to tap the CSTO’s potential for responding to such threats in the interests of ensuring the health and well-being of citizens of our countries. Therefore, we offered today to consider priority measures for developing cooperation in biosecurity area," Lavrov said, opening the meeting.

To remind, the CSTO is a post-Soviet security bloc consisting of six member-states — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Afghanistan and Serbia are observer states.