Lukashenko on possible suspension of Armenia`s membership in CSTO:  "it won`t collapse, it won`t be destroyed"

ArmInfo.If Armenia doesn't want to be in the CSTO, it won't collapse, it won't be destroyed," Lukashenko said. This is how President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko commented on the statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia about freezing the country's membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

The Belarusian leader was asked the corresponding question on  February 25 after voting in the elections of deputies to the House of  Representatives of the National Assembly and local councils.   According to the press service of the President of Belarus, Alexander  Lukashenko said that he discussed this issue with his colleagues.

"We react to this (decision) absolutely calmly. We discussed this  problem with the presidents in Kazan indirectly, absolutely calmly.  Nobody went crazy. If Armenia needs to be in the CSTO - we don't kick  anyone out, we always support, have supported and will support as our  ally. If they don't want to be in the CSTO, it won't collapse, it  won't be destroyed," Lukashenko said.  "However, there have been no  official notifications from Yerevan on this matter yet," the  Belarusian leader clarified.

He noted that in Armenia the power system is structured in such a way  that the issue of membership in the CSTO must be decided in  parliament: "There Pashinyan cannot make a decision whether to enter  or leave.  There the parliament makes a decision. I think there are a  majority of sensible people in the Armenian parliament. There can be  no offense against us or CSTO."

Lukashenko noted that this topic has been discussed more than once,  and it must be understood that Azerbaijan is not a foreign country  for all CSTO members. "There are many Muslim countries in the CSTO.  You understand this too, hence the partially g relevant position  (comes from). And thirdly, did Armenia want us to get involved in the  war between Armenia and Azerbaijan? So this war would still go on and  thousands would die," said the Belarusian leader. "I think that  Azerbaijan and Armenia, finally came to the correct solution of the  problem, unfortunately,  through the war. Armenia (and they admitted  it) 'occupied' five-six Azerbaijani regions."

The President recalled that at one time he actually played the role  of a mediator between Baku and Yerevan in an attempt to peacefully  resolve the territorial dispute, and the President of Azerbaijan  Ilham Aliyev for a number of years not only called for a peaceful  settlement, but also offered financial support to the Armenian side:  "I unwittingly became a mediator, I went from Baku to Yerevan and  transmitted these messages. Up to billions of dollars of investment  in the Armenian economy. Azerbaijan is a rich country.  There were a  lot of proposals to resolve this issue in an amicable way."

However, according to him, in previous years the Armenian leadership  did not agree to a peaceful settlement and problematic issues  accumulated. "It all accumulated and collapsed on Nikol Pashinyan, on  his government. In general, he had little to blame for what happened.  But this problem had to be solved.  Moreover, the Azerbaijani regions  'occupied' by Armenia were a desert, a warm, the most beautiful  place, cozy place where people could live. More than "a million  Azerbaijani refugees" (Azerbaijani fictional narrative, ed. note) is  a huge burden on Azerbaijan and many other problems," Lukashenko  noted.

"Well, we ended the war. What should our position be? The Armenians  are our loved ones, our dear people.  And is Azerbaijan a stranger?  That's why we found ourselves in such a situation. And CSTO had no  reason to intervene in this conflict. There was absolutely no reason  for us," Alexander Lukashenko emphasized.  Prime Minister of Armenia  Nikol Pashinyan, in an interview with France24 TV channel, stated  that the collective security agreement regarding Armenia was not  implemented, and the republic froze its participation in the CSTO.

The CSTO Secretariat stated that it had not received relevant  notifications from Yerevan.  Russian President spokesperson Dmitry  Peskov also noted that Yerevan did not send official notifications  regarding the freeze of membership in the Collective Security Treaty  Organization. "The Armenian side did not take any official actions in  this regard. We intend to contact with our colleagues and clarify the  meaning of these statements," he said.  Peskov also noted that the  Russian President does not yet plan to discuss this issue with the  Prime Minister of Armenia.