Potential for conflicts growing in Caucasus - Anatoly Sidorov

ArmInfo. Unfortunately, the situation on the CSTO borders continues to be tense. This was announced on February 14 at a press conference in Moscow by the head of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization  (CSTO) Anatoly Sidorov.

He pointed to the continued efforts of the countries of the  collective West in undermining the situation on the borders of the  CSTO and in individual member countries of the Organization.

At the same time, the military pointed to the attempts of individual  countries to strengthen their own positions in the Caucasus, to gain  access to the resources of the Caspian Sea and to Central Asia, given  the high potential conflict on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border,  contributing to the escalation of the crisis in the Caucasus region  of Collective Security.

"In the Caucasus region of Collective Security, the conflict  potential continues to grow, primarily due to the unresolved  territorial issues between individual states. Russia continues to  play a stabilizing role in the region," Mr Sidorov noted.

At the same time, according to the Chief of the Joint Staff,  Washington and Brussels, even despite Armenia's membership in the  CSTO, having their own vision of a post-conflict settlement, seek to  impose their format of the security model and level the efforts of  the CSTO in this direction.

"In turn, Azerbaijan continues to build up its military potential, is  systematically reforming the Armed Forces and transferring them to  Turkish standards, with training of personnel and the supply of NATO-  made weapons and equipment," he said.

Sidorov stressed that against this background, Iran is pursuing a  policy to counter interference in the affairs of the South Caucasus  by non-regional players. According to him, we are talking primarily  about the United States and NATO countries. , he said, recalling the sabotage,  including with the use of UAVs, at the end of January on Iranian  military facilities and infrastructure.

According to him, these actions are likely to provoke Iranian  retaliatory actions, which will increase tensions in region.

In conclusion, Sidorov noted that the settlement of territorial  disputes between states will play a key role in Transcaucasia.