Weapons Sold to Azerbaijan by CSTO Member States Were Used Against Armenia – PM Pashinyan

MOSCOW — “The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has been an essential factor in ensuring security and stability in the South Caucasus region,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is presiding over the CSTO anniversary summit in Moscow, said Monday, adding that the situation in the organization’s area of responsibility is rather tense.

Speaking about CSTO activities, Pashinyan stressed the importance of the military pact’s quick response to Armenia’s requests.

“This is also a very important issue for Armenia, because as you know, last year just these days Azerbaijani troops invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia. Armenia asked the CSTO to invoke Article 2 of the treaty which commits the bloc to discussing a collective response to grave security threats facing its member states. But unfortunately, we can’t say that the organization responded the way the Republic of Armenia expected,” Pashinyan recalled.

Pashinyan also recalled arms sales by CSTO member states to its rival Azerbaijan. “For a long time we expected a response to the sale of weapons by the CSTO member states to a country unfriendly to Armenia, which was eventually used against Armenia and against the Armenian people. And this is also a problem. To be honest, the reactions of the CSTO member states during the 44-day of war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 20200 Autumn were not very happy for the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people in general,” he said.

Pashinyan stressed the special role of the Russian Federation and Russian President Vladimir Putin in stopping the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“I want to reiterate that Armenia continues to be committed to the trilateral statements of November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021, signed by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he said.

Overall, Pashinyan stated that Armenia, as a founding member of the CSTO, is committed to fulfilling its obligations and considers the Organization a key factor for stability and security in the Eurasian region and for the Republic of Armenia.

CSTO members are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia