And asked a question why CSTO is silent, when the ceasefire in Armenia-Azerbaijan front line is violated
“Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, whose regulatory mandate is in the hands of OSCE Minsk Group, of course, is a matter for the security in the region. I think there is a wrong notion that the conflict is bilateral. Sorry, this is a three-sided conflict between Armenia-Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan-Nagorno-Karabakh, because there are some areas, particularly, Artsvashen, which are under the control of Azerbaijan. The troops are on the front line, as in the territory of Azerbaijan so as in Armenia. Nakhichevan area of about 210 km, there are troops there, too. In other words, there is a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” said the former Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan, yesterday, at the discussing on “CSTO and Modern Security Challenges”, reversing some of the observations made during the discussion.
Mr. Harutyunyan noted that now, in modern conditions, there are numerous cases of ceasefire violations at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and asked how CSTO should react to these events. Currently, it does not exist. The speaker reminded that CSTO President has repeatedly stated that CSTO will apply to all of its powers in case of possible aggression against Armenia. “And what should CSTO do to prevent aggression, prevent border incidents?” asked Vagharshak Harutyunyan, adding that having no intention to involve CSTO member countries in the conflict, however, some options of interference should be found to to prevent further escalation of the conflict in this way.
As a CSTO achievement, Mr. Harutyunyan mentioned the RF government’s efforts in 1994, on behalf of CSTO, regarding signing of the cease-fire. Today, the speaker believes that CSTO is playing a stabilizing role and supports in the development of the member states. Speaking of Armenia and NATO relations, he noted that with the lack of concrete material benefits, Armenia, unfortunately, is involved in the peacekeeping mission of this structure. He brought an example of involuntary involvement of Armenia in the Iraq war, as well as in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Drawing parallels between “democracy leading” NATO and CSTO, Mr. Harutyunyan said, “It is obvious that CSTO stops and regulates the conflicts, and with NATO cooperation, from Armenia’s perspective, we get involved in conflicts whose effectiveness is quite debatable.”
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CSTO Senior Assistant to the Secretary-General, Vladimir Nikitin, responding to the questions of the former minister, said that today CSTO can only apply joint effort to the settlement. “Today, CSTO is not facing more essential steps, such as the involvement of peacekeeping forces and so on. It’s early to talk about it. It is the matter to be solved by political authorities and diplomats. Bringing in peacekeeping forces already means an operative intervention.” Vagharshak Harutyunyan said that he had voiced the issue in the political context, and not hinting on the necessity of military intervention.
Coordinator of the Analytical Association of CSTO Igor Panarin, in response of the former minister regarding the observations on NATO, said that he fully shares his positions. He said that during the occupation in Iraq, one million people were killed and five million became refugees, but U.S. Secretary of State was not even bothered to apologize to these people, because the chemical weapon that the U.S. was looking for in Iraq, was convinced that it exists, was not discovered. He even remembered about a representative seminar, to which he also attended, and where the Italian representatives were strongly criticizing NATO for the war in Iraq, and the attended NATO representatives did not even attempt to reverse the Italian political scientists. Italians even offered to hold a discussion on “NATO after Iraq”.
After the discussion, in response to the question of “Aravot”, president of “Russian-Armenian cooperation” Yuri Navoyan, referring to the fact of selling weapons to Azerbaijan by RF, noted that very few paid attention on the fact that RF influenced on Israel with regard to reducing the sale of weapons to Azerbaijan. Our interlocutor does not see absurdity here. He clarifies, “The information on selling weapons to Azerbaijan by Turkey, Ukraine, , and sometimes Belarus, is not always available, and Russia is concerned about it.
Perhaps, they wanted to be the main seller of weapons to Azerbaijan to be able to make it controllable to some extent. Simply, it coincided with the phase, and there was some political signal in the phase.” However, our interlocutor in confident that the balance will never be to the detriment of Armenia in the framework of Armenia-Russia relations and the CSTO. “If we consider that CSTO is the only viable institution in CIS area, and the only main part of Armenia’s security is directly conditioned with this membership, then both, RF and Armenia, will never allow that a country with military or political advantages be next to Armenia in such a complex region, because it will bring many unpredictable consequences for the whole area of CSTO commitment, including beyond it.”
Nelly GRIGORYAN
P. S. The interview with Vagharshak Harutyunyan about Armenia’s membership to CU in one of upcoming issues of “Aravot”.
