ACCORDING TO KAREN BEKARIAN, ARMENIA IS MAIN FACTOR OF CSTO ACTIVITY IN SOUTHERN DIRECTION

Noyan Tapan

Feb 10, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. CSTO member countries’ agreement
to establish collective rapid reaction force clarified the activity
mechanism of CSTO as a structure. Karen Bekarian, the Chairman of
the European Integration NGO, expressed such an opinion at the
February 10 press conference. He said that CSTO has three prior
activity directions, eastern, western, and southern, and Armenia is
the main factor of the southern direction. According to K. Bekarian,
for Armenia, establishment of collective rapid reaction force is of
considerable importance especially on the background of Azerbaijan’s
bellicose position. According to him, it is also important that
the agreement was signed in the period of Armenia’s assuming CSTO
chairmanship.

Touching upon RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s speech at the 45th Munich
Security Conference, K. Bekarian said that "it had sense and was
worthy of attention." As the speaker emphasized, the subject of the
speech mainly concerned South Caucasian region’s security. "State’s
view of programs bypassing Armenia was presented rather precisely
in the speech, as well as it was mentioned that liquidation of
separating lines is the guarantee of regional countries’ development,"
K. Bekarian said.