The session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CSTO member states was held
On December 1, a session of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers was held ahead of the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council. The agenda of the session included issues of increasing the efficiency of the CSTO activities and deepening cooperation within the organization, as well as strengthening the defense component of the organization. The participants also exchanged views on strengthening the cooperation and establishing working relations with the international organizations.
In his remarks Minister Aivazian congratulated his Russian counterpart for the effective chairmanship in the CSTO and stressed Armenia’s readiness to support Tajikistan on implementing the priorities of its forthcoming chairmanship.
During his remarks Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ara Aivazian touched upon in detail the war unleashed by Azerbaijan: the consequences and regional developments resulting from that war. The Minister specifically emphasized the direct involvement of Turkey in the military hostilities of Azerbaijan and the transferring of foreign terrorist fighters to Azerbaijan from Libya and the territories in Syria under its control to engage them in the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh.
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With regards of the issue of foreign terrorist fighters, which is an important issue in the CSTO agenda, Minister Aivazian drew the attention of his colleagues to the steps being undertaken by Azerbaijan to establish a hab of international terrorism in the Caucasus, which is rife with the possibilty of transferring terrorism to other countires and neiboring regions.
Minister Aivazian touched upon the statement of November 9 on the establishment of a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh, adding that the allies are expected to support Russia’s efforts, as well as the peace process within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.
As a prior step of coping with the consequences of the Azerbaijani aggression, Minister Aivazian mentioned the addressing of humanitarian issues, including the urgent exchange of prisoners of war and captives, as well as the bodies of those killed, and the need to clarify the data on missing persons: “Despite the relevant provision in the statement, Azerbaijan still hesitates to show readiness to implement it.”
During the session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CSTO member states, a joint statement was adopted on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of World War II. The drafts of the Declaration and the statement of the CSTO Collective Security Council were approved at the CSTO Foreign Ministers’ session, in which the member states are in favor of the settlement of armed conflicts within the framework of the internationally recognized negotiation formats exclusively through peaceful, political-diplomatic means. Efforts will be made to combat the dangers of international terrorism, including the financing, training and arming of foreign militants as mercenaries in armed conflict.
A number of drafts of the documents aimed at improving the CSTO collective security system were approved, including the draft of the agreement on joint logistics and medical insurance of the CSTO troops (collective forces), the draft of the CSTO anti-drug strategy of 2021-2025 and other documents.
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