In the light of the latest military operations in Artsakh and amid the lack of proper response from Armenia's partners within the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the CSTO to Azerbaijan's aggression, Yerevan should stop its membership in the specified structures, Deputy Chairman of Heritage Party Armen Martirosyan said at a press conference in Yerevan on April 13.
He said the hostilities in Artsakh demonstrated that Armenia has neither strategic allies nor any partners within the CSTO and the EEU. Consequently, membership in the structures where their participants' interests do not coincide is inexpedient. "The overt support of Kazakhstan and Belarus to Azerbaijan, as well as the Baku-Moscow arms deals show that neither the CSTO nor the EEU will defend the interests and the security of our country even if Azerbaijan launches large-scale offensive against Armenia," the politician said.
Martirosyan said that Armenia should diversify its security and launch direct cooperation with Iran, China, the EU and the United States. He does not share the opinion that Washington supports the stand of Azerbaijan's "elder brother" Turkey. "The US has clearly pointed out that the third countries' intervention in the Karabakh conflict is unacceptable," he said, noting that Armenia and NATO closely cooperate and that this experience can be used for establishing direct interaction.
For her part, Heritage Party Faction Head Zaruhi Postanjyan said that as Russia justifies its own armed actions with its business interests, the Armenian side should switch from strategic relations to trade and economic ones. She added that the Armenian side cannot rely on Russia as a strategic partner and should look for more reliable allies. The EU and Iran can become such allies.