Armenia never sought to involve CSTO in war, says Pashinyan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia never wanted to involve the CSTO in a military conflict, however, if the territorial integrity of a member country is violated, it is then that the seriousness of the organization manifests itself, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in the National Assembly in response to a question from lawmaker Shirak Torosyan.

“It is very important to record that we never expected military intervention from the CSTO in the first place. Don’t think that we were trying to drag the CSTO into a war and thereby put our partners at a disadvantage. At the same time, we acted in accordance with the CSTO documents. First of all, we expect a political position,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan said Armenia asked the CSTO to clarify the area of its responsibility in the country after the events of May 2021, when Azerbaijan launched a major offensive. According to him, when a clear answer to said question is given, other questions will no longer arise, because everything will work according to the planned mechanisms. Armenia was counting on a political position, the prime minister emphasized.

Pashinyan also noted the importance of the matter in terms of mediation. He said Armenia is also ready to “accept the mediation of countries that recognize these principles, but is not ready to accept the mediation of those who do not, because this will cause many problems”.

Previously, Pashinyan said that Armenia has frozen its participation in the CSTO. Pashinyan noted later that Armenia has de facto frozen its involvement in the CSTO, and if the country does not get an answer to the question about the CSTO’s area of responsibility in Armenia, it will freeze its involvement de jure.