Let Belarus Remain in the CSTO Forever, But Mutual Obligations Must Be Fulfilled: Pashinyan

The position of the Secretary General of the CSTO is essentially an opportunity to discuss existing issues regarding the mutual obligations of the organization's member states. This was stated by Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a meeting today with representatives of the Armenian community in St. Petersburg, addressing the question regarding the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

“We want clear answers. No one can accuse us of failing to fulfill our allied obligations at any point. Armenia has proven its commitment to being a loyal ally, both in the past and now. Unfortunately, this cannot be said about all our partners in the CSTO, which is why we say let’s clarify our relations—are we allies or not? If we are allies, then we must fulfill all our obligations, but the actions that fundamentally contradict those obligations are incomprehensible to us.

We must know who we can rely on and who we cannot. I am convinced that the CSTO should not allow Azerbaijan's temptation to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by armed means. The current question is whether the CSTO is prepared to use its tools for this purpose or not. This is a strategically significant issue for us. The question of the Secretary General is secondary, tertiary, or even fiftieth. Let the representative of Belarus remain there forever, but all our mutual obligations must be fulfilled,” said Nikol Pashinyan, adding that there are serious questions around the vision of CSTO countries regarding Nagorno-Karabakh concerning how it aligns with the nature of strategic partnership.