ArmInfo.We are facing difficulties related to the current situation in Armenia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced this on January 18 at a press conference in Moscow.
Referring to joint integration projects, the Russian diplomat noted that the CSTO has plans for joint foreign policy activity. In this vein, he noted that it is not easy to do this, and the solidarity of all countries participating in the integration association is necessary. However, Lavrov continued, Russia stands for a multi-vector approach and equal relations, and not for a "leader-executor" approach. He noted that there is no discipline of the cane in the CSTO, which is harmful. At the same time, Lavrov noted that, of course, he would like solidarity in the Union structures to be one hundred percent and work is underway in this direction.
"Let's not hide, we are facing difficulties related to the situation in Armenia. When our Armenian friends put forward the need to send a CSTO mission to the border with Azerbaijan in order to ensure some kind of stability there. We also agreed on such a document on the parameters of this mission at the summit held in Yerevan. But it was not possible to adopt the document, because our Armenian partners began to insist that this document also contain a sharp condemnation of Azerbaijan. We explained that if we are talking about condemnation, about rhetoric, about presenting a position, then here everyone is free, whatever," the diplomat said.
But if we want to send the CSTO mission, he continued, then it is not necessary that it was conditioned by external impulses, especially statements, all the more ones. According to him, the Organization still remains ready to send a CSTO mission to the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"Nevertheless, despite the fact that we are allies, this mission is fully prepared, the Armenian side prefers to negotiate with the European Union so that their mission will be deployed there on a long-term basis. And probably, if this mission is deployed without the consent of Azerbaijan, it may be simply counterproductive. And instead of building trust, it can create additional irritants," Lavrov said, adding that this is an objective assessment, and each CSTO region must be approached creatively, taking into account the specifics of countries. Џ® ҐЈ® б«®ў ¬, н⮠㦮 гзЁвлў вм, Ї®бЄ®«мЄг Є ¦¤®Ј® ®Є §лў Ґвбп ¤ ў«ҐЁҐ. "But, all our partners - of course, we discuss all this frankly with them - they perfectly understand and emphasize that there will be no discrepancies with the obligations under the CSTO. Our Armenian friends give the same assurances. This is where it is necessary, this is my deep conviction, a deep and frank conversation between our presidents as it was in Yerevan. It was preceded by a conversation between the foreign ministers and their experts. We need to openly state any difficulties that these countries face," Lavrov summed up.
It should be noted that after the Azerbaijani large-scale military aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia on September 13-14, 2022, official Yerevan turned to Russia, the CSTO and the UN Security Council for military assistance. In order to assess the situation, the CSTO sent a mission to Armenia, which was entrusted with the function of assessing the situation and developing a set of measures to provide assistance. Later, the Russian side announced that the CSTO was ready to send a monitoring mission to the border if the CSTO CSC approved this measure. Yerevan, however, said that they expect a targeted political assessment of the occupation of Armenian territories from the CSTO. On November 23, a meeting of the CSTO CSC was held in Yerevan, at which a decision was to be made on rendering assistance to Armenia. However, the Prime Minister of Armenia refused to sign the draft "Declaration of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO and on joint measures to provide assistance to the Republic of Armenia." "The lack of a clear political assessment of the situation by the CSTO and the failure to adopt the above decision may mean not only the CSTO's refusal of allied obligations, but also Azerbaijan's interpretation as a green light from the CSTO for further aggression against Armenia. And this is contrary not only to the letter, but also to the spirit and the meaning of the fundamental documents of the CSTO," he said during a speech at a meeting of the CSTO CSC in Yerevan, adding that he was not ready to sign the document in this form.