Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the defense committee of Russia’s State Duma, or lower parliament house, recalled that a delegation from Iran had already participated in a meeting of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, TASS reported.
"I think that the issue of Iran’s potential membership in the CSTO should be looked at in a more concrete way. Why not, after all? \[The CSTO\] is not a private club," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 television channel.
Under the CSTO charter, any country sharing its goals and principles and ready to undertake commitments may seek membership in the organization. A decision to this effect is made by the Collective Security Council.
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