On 9 August, RA Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan received the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Stanislav Zas, who had arrived in the Republic of Armenia on a working visit. This was reported by the RA Ministry of Defense.
Welcoming the guest, the Defense Minister noted, in particular: “We were expecting your visit back in May. That was a rather tense period for Armenia, but unfortunately your visit did not take place. Today a stable but grave situation has formed on our borders. In May, Azerbaijani armed forces invaded Armenian territory in two directions. This deeply concerns us. We are proponents of peace. We do not, under any circumstances, want a escalation of the situation on our borders. At the same time, we are not prepared to tolerate actions that could lead to the violation of Armenia’s state border. We will resolutely defend our territories. We, of course, strive to resolve this issue by peaceful means, demonstrating our peacefulness. At the same time, our patience is also not inexhaustible, and in the absence of a peaceful resolution to the situation created on our borders, we reserve the right to resolve the issue through the use of force.”
RA Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan expressed regret that the mechanisms for decision-making and responding to crisis situations within the CSTO do not correspond to the current demands of the development of the situation.
The RA Defense Minister also informed the Secretary General about the conceptual approaches of the RA presidency in the CSTO, emphasizing that the Armenian side’s priorities will be the enhancement and improvement of the organization’s effectiveness, as well as the issues of the further development of the CSTO’s military component.
Stanislav Zas congratulated the RA Defense Minister on assuming the high state office.
Subsequently, the CSTO Secretary General informed the RA Defense Minister that on 15 September of the current year, joint sessions of the CSTO committees of foreign ministers, defense ministers and secretaries of security councils are planned in Dushanbe, and on 16 September, a session of the Collective Security Council will take place, during which the CSTO presidency will be transferred to the Republic of Armenia.
