Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan criticized the allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for reacting to the 2020 war in Karabakh and selling weapons to Azerbaijan by some members of the bloc. The head of the Armenian government made a corresponding statement at the summit of the leaders of the CSTO member countries on Monday, May 16.
Pashinyan pointed out that “there are a lot of positive things in the history of the CSTO” and the organization “was, is and will be the most important factor” in ensuring security in the region. At the same time, the Prime Minister noted that the reaction of the CSTO member countries to the war in Karabakh in 2020 was not what Armenia expected.
“… Azerbaijani troops invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia. Armenia turned to the CSTO to activate the mechanisms that are intended in the provision of the CSTO response procedure to crisis situations of December 10, 2010, which was approved by the Collective Security Council. Unfortunately, we cannot say that the organization reacted as expected by the Republic of Armenia,” the prime minister said.
“As a result, these weapons were used against Armenia and against the Armenian people. And this is also a problem. To be honest, the reaction of the CSTO member countries during the 44-day war of 2020 and after the war did not make the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people in general very happy,” Pashinyan stressed.
The Prime Minister of Armenia also assured that the government continues to adhere to the ceasefire agreements in Karabakh, and expressed gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his assistance in concluding such agreements.
“We have a positive attitude in order to fully support the organization and its further development,” Pashinyan added.
It should be noted that on May 16, the leaders of the CSTO member countries – the Russian Federation, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – met today in Moscow at a summit dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the organization. During a public meeting, Russian President Putin, in particular, stated that NATO expansion in Sweden and Finland does not pose a threat to Russia, and also repeated the thesis about “Nazis” in Ukraine.
In the fall of 2020, the armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed in Karabakh, which lasted from September 27 to November 10. During the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that Moscow has obligations to Yerevan within the framework of the CSTO, but noted that “combat operations are not being conducted on the territory of Armenia.” On the morning of October 31, Pashinyan sent a letter to Putin and asked him for support in connection with the war. In response to this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation also indicated that support would be sent when hostilities begin directly on the territory of Armenia.
Already on the night of November 10, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the head of the Armenian government Pashinyan, through the mediation Putin signed an agreement according to which the Armenian side transferred the territories of the Agdam, Kalbajar, Lachin and part of the Gazakh regions of Karabakh to the control of the Azerbaijani troops.
Since then, clashes between the Azerbaijani and Armenian military have been taking place in the region from time to time, provoking which the parties accuse each other.