Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan delivered a message to the nation. Among other things, he spoke about external security systems, including the CSTO.
According to Nikol Pashinyan, the attacks made by Azerbaijan against Armenians in recent years have led to an obvious conclusion: the systems the country is part of are ineffective from the point of view of state interests and security. In particular, ratification of the Rome Statute is currently being considered, which will make it possible to use the capabilities of the International Criminal Court.
«We made the decision to ratify the Rome Statute in December 2022, when it became clear to all of us that the instruments of the CSTO and the Armenian-Russian strategic partnership are not enough to ensure the external security of Armenia, and this decision is in no way directed against the CSTO or the Russian Federation. It comes from our interests in the field of external security, and making such a decision is our sovereign right,» he said.
According to the Armenian Prime Minister, the country has never agreed to language questioning independence.
«However, it is concerning that rather than heeding our desire for an independent, sovereign, free and democratic state, some of our partners are increasingly making efforts to expose our security vulnerabilities, compromising not only our external, but also internal security and stability, while violating all norms of etiquette and correctness in diplomatic and interstate relations, including obligations assumed under treaties,» he added.
Nikol Pashinyan called on partners to respect the statehood and sovereignty of the country.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is a military-political alliance created by the CIS states to stabilize the situation in partner countries in case of an emergency. The CSTO consists of six states: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Tajikistan. Serbia and the Union State have observer status. Until 1999, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan also participated in the agreement, but they decided not to renew the partnership. Uzbekistan returned to the CSTO for a time in 2006-2012.
On September 19, Azerbaijan announced the start of «local anti-terrorist measures» in Nagorno-Karabakh.
On September 20, the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh actually capitulated. They decided on a ceasefire and disarmament.
