Zakharova: How should CSTO actually act when Armenian leadership  itself decided to transfer several settlements to Azerbaijan?

ArmInfo. It is very sad for Moscow that the Armenian authorities continue to publicly criticize the CSTO. This was stated on April 25 during a weekly briefing by official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria  Zakharova, in response to a question from an Azerbaijani journalist, presented in a manipulative manner.

"And not just criticism, criticism can and should be made, but a  groundless one. We are talking about groundless criticism. This  despite the fact that the leadership, the secretariat of the  organization has confirmed the full observance of all obligations  towards the Republic in full compliance with the statutory goals and  principles of the CSTO," said Zakharova.

She again recalled that over the 30 years of its existence, the  Organization has proven its independence, effectiveness and relevance  in the South Caucasus.

"Yerevan also benefits from the advantage that the CSTO fully takes  into account Armenia's national sovereignty and does not suppress it,  as is typical of Western military-political alliances. No one doubts  that the CSTO area of responsibility includes the territory of  Armenia. In the case of the Armenian- Azerbaijani border, as we  understand, Baku and Yerevan agreed to be guided by the Alma-Ata  Declaration of 1991. 

Therefore, the Armenian leadership recognizes that as part of the  delimitation process, it is necessary to clarify the border line on  the ground and resolve issues related to the disputed territories and  enclaves. How do you expect the CSTO to act when the leadership of  Armenia itself decided to transfer a number of settlements to  Azerbaijan? Or is CSTO to blame for this?" she asked.

Referring to the issue of regional security, Zakharova again stated  that there is a systematic expansion of the countries of the  collective West and individual Western states in this region and not  at all for peacekeeping purposes, but for the purpose of  destabilizing the situation and gathering intelligence information.  She again accused the West of harming the peace settlement and  undermining regional peace.

Earlier, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in an interview with  British media representatives, said that he does not know the answer  to the question that the Armenian society asks the authorities: why  Yerevan remains part of the CSTO. According to him, the CSTO's  response mechanisms to crisis situations did not work when the  borders of Armenia were violated in May and November 2021, September  2022, with the reasoning that the country's borders were not  delimited. And in February, Pashinyan said that Armenia had "frozen"  its participation in the work of the CSTO.