RA Premier: CSTO does not exist as mechanism upon which  member  states could rely on

ArmInfo. Yerevan considers the solution of regional security problems within the framework of the  peace process. Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated in an interview with British media media, commenting on the benefits of continuing membership in the CSTO.

"As to regional security, we think that we can address this problem  as part of the peace process.  And it's important that the peace  process is not only the work on the peace treaty, which is underway.  But it's important to note that we have embarked on the practical  stage of border delimitation process, which is of extreme importance  in terms of, among other things, reducing security risks, and we need  to move in this direction. As to the Collective Security Treaty  Organization, a fundamental problem emerged there, because even with  Azerbaijan we managed to agree in principle on recognizing each  other's territorial integrity based on the 1991 Alma-Ata declaration,  and the 1991 Alma-Ata declaration is accepted as the political bases  for the border delimitation process. I would like to clarify what   this means in practice.  From the point of view of our discussions,  the 1991 Alma-Ata declaration contains two important elements.  First  is that the Soviet Union shall cease to exist, and this was the  agreement reached between the 12 former Soviet Union republics, all  the republics with the exception of the Baltic states, which at that  time had already declared independence, and the administrative  borders that existed between the Soviet republics shall turn into  state borders. So now we clearly know where the border lies between  the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. And  importantly, the fact that we accept the Alma-Ata declaration as the  political bases for the delimitation process has an important meaning  that we shall not draw a new border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.  We simply need to reproduce on the ground the borders that existed at  the time that the Soviet Union collapsed. Those were the de-jure  borders within the Soviet Union.  Now, how is all this related to the  CSTO? It is very directly related to the CSTO. The administrative  borders, that according to the Alma-Ata declaration became borders,  these borders define the zone of responsibility of the CSTO. What  that means is that if that border is breached, the security mechanism  of the Collective Security Treaty Organization should engage.

Now what's the problem that has emerged in our relationship with the  CSTO? The problem is as follows:  when that border was breached in  May 2021, in November 2021, in September 2022, Armenia according to  the established procedure initiated the mechanism for the crisis  response, but that mechanism did not get engaged with the explanation  that the borders have not been delimited. And recently such a  statement was made by the Russian Federation that the CSTO did not  engage at that time because there was no delimited border or any  border at that time, but our colleagues failed to acknowledge that if  there is no delimited border there, does that mean that there is no  zone of responsibility for the CSTO as well, because the border is  there, and everyone knows where the border lies.

So they are saying that the zone of responsibility of the CSTO cannot  be identified by them, but this in fact means that they are saying  that the CSTO does not exist, because the border between Japan and  Russia is also not delimited. I know that this is not the intention  of our colleagues, but if such were the situation, Russia has borders  with certain countries which have not been delimited, and if they  were in a similar situation in which the armed forces of any country  were to enter the territory of the Russian Federation through a  border that was not delimited, would then the CSTO not respond in any  way? And that would mean that the CSTO does not exist as a mechanism  upon which the member states, Russia, Armenia, and the other member  states, could rely.

And that's our question. If we were relying on an organization on  which one should not rely on, because in principle, one cannot rely  on that organization, not only we, but also others cannot rely on  that organization, and it's justified by the organization's reaction  and statements of some of the member states, and our society asks why  we continue to be a member state of the CSTO? Frankly, I do not have  an answer to that question," emphasized the Prime Minister of the  Republic of Armenia.