Lavrov says CSTO may deploy observers on Armenian-Azerbaijani border

YEREVAN, September 30. /ARKA/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signaled today that the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) may deploy observers on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border ' to help create favorable conditions for the implementation of the agreements of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia,' (reached in 2020 and 2021 on ending hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan).

Lavrov made the proposal when speaking at a meeting of the heads of security agencies and intelligence services of CIS member states, TASS reported.

Speaking at a Thursday Cabinet session Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his government was considering deployment of an international observation mission of the UN Security Council, OSCE or any other international organization - on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

Earlier, invoking a CSTO treaty article that says that attack on one is an attack on all Armenia officially asked the CSTO for military assistance hours after the outbreak of the two-day hostilities on the border on September 13-14, but Russia and other CSTO member states declined the request, deciding instead to send the fact-finding missions tasked with studying the situation on the ground and submitting policy recommendations.

The Secretary of Armenia's Security Council Armen Grigoryan said in an interview that Armenia counted on military and political assistance from the Russia-led bloc to protect its sovereignty against Azerbaijani incursion.

"That was our demand to the CSTO, but it has not been fulfilled yet. Naturally, this cannot satisfy us," he said.

"The fact is that the CSTO has not yet responded properly to having Azerbaijani troops completely withdrawn from the sovereign Armenian territory. This means that our expectations have not been met," he stressed.

Armenia also decided against sending troops to Kazakhstan for CSTO military exercises that began on Monday in view of “the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.” -0-