Interfax, Russia
March 27 2009

All issues of Rapid Reaction Forces to be settled at CSTO summit in
June – Armenian official

MOSCOW March 27

The CSTO Rapid Reaction Forces will not get involved in the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, Armenian National Security Council
Secretary Artur Bagdasarian told Interfax-AVN.

"It would be wrong to establish links between the Nagorno-Karabakh and
the creation of the Rapid Reaction Forces. The goal is clear as a day:
these forces can be used in case of a military aggression against one
of the signatories of the treaty. This means that in case of military
aggression against Armenia or for example another CSTO member state
the Rapid Reaction Forces will be activated in line with the signed
international agreements," Bagdasarian said.

There remain many issues linked to the activity of these forces, and
the final decision on them will be made in Moscow at the CSTO summit
this June, he said.

The Armenian National Security Council made a decision to delegate a
contingent to the Rapid Reaction Forces, he said.

Russia’s president earlier voiced an initiative that Russia will
assist equipping these forces, he said. "Only a political decision has
been made at this stage. The Rapid Reaction Forces are being formed.

This presupposes institutional and legislative reforms. This will take
some more time," Bagdasarian said.