UN chief signs cooperation agreement with Russia-led regional security organization

UN chief signs deal with Russia-led security group

MOSCOW — The United Nations chief has signed a cooperation agreement with a Russia-led security group of ex-Soviet nations that some see as a counterbalance to NATO.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has signed the document along with Nikolai Bordyuzha, the head of the Collective Treaty Organization. The Moscow-dominated alliance includes Russia and six other former Soviet republics.

Ban said Thursday that the U.N. should work closely with regional security groups. The Kremlin was anxious to gain the U.N.’s recognition of the organization.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow would like to work more closely with the U.N. on Afghan issues. He says the trade in Afghan heroin has become “a threat to world stability.”