The Russian-led military alliance of ex-Soviet states proposed what its outgoing Secretary General Stanislav Zas called a set of “measures to assist Armenia in this difficult situation” during a summit held in Yerevan last week.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian vetoed a corresponding decision by the leaders of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, citing the absence of any language condemning Azerbaijani attacks on his country.
Zas cited the proposals made by the CSTO secretariat in Moscow and stressed their importance in a weekend interview with Belarusian television. He again did not fully disclose them, saying only that they include the dispatch of another CSTO fact-finding mission to Armenia.
Armen Khachatrian, the deputy chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on defense and security, said that such a mission would be a waste of time because CSTO representatives already toured areas along Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan following large-scale fighting that broke out there on September 13.
“What the CSTO must do first is to make a military-political evaluation of Azerbaijan’s actions, to state that Azerbaijan is an aggressor that has occupied Armenia’s sovereign territory … but out partners still do not recognize this fact,” Khachatrian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Despite again failing to secure CSTO support, Pashinian described the Yerevan summit as “largely positive.” He said he hopes that the declaration vetoed by him will undergo amendments acceptable to Armenia.
Khachatrian, who represents Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, likewise expressed hope that the amended document will contain the “evaluation” sought by Yerevan. The lawmaker would not be drawn on whether Armenia should consider leaving the CSTO if its allies keep refusing to condemn Azerbaijan.