Armenia never applied to CSTO for military aid, FM admits 

ArmInfo. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), employed mechanisms, including bilateral ones, in connection with Azerbaijani troops' incursion into  Armenia's sovereign territory, RA Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan  stated in Parliament January 19, in response to the opposition MP  Aram Vardevanyan's question as to why Armenia did not apply to the  CSTO for military aid amid the enemy's obvious and repeated  incursions into its sovereign territories. 

"We know the CSTO Charter very well. And we cannot claim that the  political intervention mechanisms did not produce results and the  fire was not ceased. I am not claiming, I am stating it. Yes, the  CSTO has its Charter and mechanisms of employing forces. And the  government will, if necessary, decide to apply on the basis of  Article 4," Mr Mirzoyan said.      

In response to Mr Vardevanyan's earlier question addressed to RA  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as to why Armenia, eight months after  Azerbaijani incursion and occupation of 40sq kilometers of its  sovereign territory, has not applied to the CSTO, Mr Mirzoyan said  that the CSTO Secretariat has stated that military mechanisms were  for the first time employed in Kazakhstan. 

"The CSTO is an organization, not an army, after all. And if we read  the Charter, when it comes to the allies' interference, the first  mechanisms to be employed are the political ones. And when they prove  insufficient, these are followed consultations and interference on  the land. In this case, we have up to now used these instruments, and  I hope that we will resolve the problems by moving forward in the  same spirit," Mr Mirzoyan said.  

After the Azerbaijani incursion into Armenia's sovereign territory on  May 12 and 13, the Armenian premier applied to the CSTO for aid.  However, it was reported later that Armenia had applied under Article  2 (consultations), not under Article 4 (military aid). 

Later, on November 16, amid the Armenian-Azerbaijani border  escalation along Armenia's Syunik, Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of the  RA Security Council, stated in a live interview with the RA Public TV  that Armenia was applying to the CSTO for military aid. As to whether  a written application had been addressed, he said that it was under  preparation. After mass media inquired of the CSTO about Armenia's  application, the CSTO stated that no application had been received  from Armenia. Armenia's authorities admitted they had not applied to  the CSTO. They assured mass media that they applied in May 2021 and  the aid was to be provided under that application. 

Amid the disinformation by Armenia's authorities, Armenia's society  is showing a negative attitude to the CSTO, with appeals for  secession being made.