Interfax News Agency, Russia
March 28 2008

Armenia concerned about lack of uniformity between CSTO members in UN
voting

YEREVAN March 28

Yerevan is concerned about the fact that the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO) member-states did not vote uniformly on a
UN General Assembly resolution on the situation in the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan on March 14, Armenian Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanian said.

"Armenia is concerned that the Organization failed to display a
uniform position. The countries that voted for the resolution in fact
voted against the negotiating process," the Armenian Foreign Ministry
quoted Oskanian as saying at an informal conference of CSTO foreign
ministers in Moscow.

He said he hoped the CSTO members would display solidarity during
voting in the future.

Oskanian also suggested that the resolution does not have any legal
force.

It was reported earlier that the UN General Assembly passed a
resolution on the situation in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan, which was initiated by Baku, on March 14. The resolution
was supported by 39 countries, seven voted against it, and 100
abstained.

As regards the CSTO members (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), only Russia and
Armenia voted against the resolution, Uzbekistan voted in favor of
it, and the rest of its members abstained.

France and the U.S., which, together with Russia, are co-chairmen of
the OSCE Minsk Group mediating in the negotiations to resolve the
conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, also
voted against the resolution.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress