Tonoyan: The military-political situation in the South Caucasus is  characterized by a high potential for confliction

ArmInfo.The military-political situation in the South Caucasus is characterized  by a high potential for confliction. Armenian Defense Minister David  Tonoyan stated this on September 4 during a joint meeting of the  heads of the military departments of the SCO, CIS and CSTO member  states, referring to the challenges to regional security.

"We all note with great concern the recent escalation of tension in  interstate relations, the degradation of the architecture of  international security, a noticeable expansion of conflict zones due  to the aggravation of intrastate crises, primarily on ethnic and  confessional grounds.

At the same time, our world has become more interconnected; any  instability in a particular region is fraught with negative  consequences throughout the world. In other words, in modern  conditions, regional security cannot be ensured "autonomously",  outside the framework of the existing global security system. The  aggravation of any regional problems has a direct impact on  international security as a whole. This applies not only to  military-political issues, but also to the pandemic, which, as the  experience of most countries has shown, has grown into a general  security problem, "the Armenian Minister said.

At the same time, he stated that the main task of the international  community is to build a stable world based on preventing the creation  of new hotbeds of instability by imposing regional geopolitical  ambitions using a full range of destructive approaches, fueled by  expansionist ideology. At the same time, he expressed the conviction  that this is possible only under the condition of conscientious and  unswerving observance by all parties of their international  obligations, as well as strengthening collective principles,  primarily UN mechanisms.

"We proceed from the fact that strict adherence to the norms and  principles of international law plays a key role in preventing  conflicts. The basis for resolving existing disputes and  disagreements between states should be exclusively peaceful  negotiations based on the principle of non-interference in internal  affairs.

The Republic of Armenia has always advocated the equal application of  the norms of international law, the right to free choice, reasonable  globalization, and the architecture of international security, which  is based on abstaining from " the position of strength" policies,  maximalist approaches, hate rhetoric, and belligerent statements.

To my great regret, I have to admit that the military-political  situation in the South Caucasus is characterized by a high potential  for confliction. Recently, there has been an exacerbation of  contradictions in the region, which, in our assessment, is a  consequence of the expansion of ambitions of certain countries. The  military-political events dynamically developing in our region can be  characterized as a conflict of geopolitical interests, the key factor  of which is the absence of a common vision of security, as well as  the absence of risk reduction mechanisms. Regional conflicts have no  military solution, and neither military rhetoric nor attempts to  involve new states in these conflicts, with the subsequent  aggravation of the situation in the region, is unacceptable for  Armenia. In particular, after each incident that is a direct  continuation of the intensifying militant rhetoric, the forces  conducting the latter are convinced again that this approach is not  effective and does not lead to the desired result. The Russian  presence in the region, as well as the deepening of  military-political cooperation between Armenia and Russia are the  most important deterrent factor contributing to the preservation of  regional stability and security, "he said.

At the same time, Tonoyan recalled that the sector of strategic  interests of the Republic of Armenia includes not only the Caucasus  region, but the entire area of responsibility of the CSTO, as well as  the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. According to the  Minister, based on this, Armenia is interested in maintaining peace  and stability in the listed regions.

"The fight against terrorism remains one of the highest priority  tasks. Highly appreciating the role of the Russian Federation in the  fight against international terrorism in the Syrian Arab Republic,  the Republic of Armenia joined the process of providing humanitarian  assistance to the Syrian people and restoring the country's  infrastructure.

The Republic of Armenia intends to continue to make its feasible  contribution to the UN-sanctioned undertakings of various formats,  carried out in different geographic, climatic, ethno-confessional and  operational environments. For this we are ready to use all the  potential we have. In conclusion of my speech, I would like to note  that in the current conditions, the issue of further deepening and  expanding multilateral defense cooperation, and primarily within the  framework of the Organizations of which our states are members: the  CIS, SCO and the CSTO, is of particular importance.

This will allow us to consolidate responsible and consistent  collective efforts to prevent the threat of the outbreak of wars and  armed conflicts, as well as to ensure international and regional  security, "the head of the Armenian defense department concluded.