CSTO Awaits Letter from Yerevan: Why is There No Official Request?

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports: "The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) issued a statement on July 14 regarding the Armenian-Azerbaijani border clashes. The statement emphasized, 'This situation does not contribute to the resolution of the border status between the two neighboring states, one of which, the Republic of Armenia, is a CSTO member state. We stress the necessity of restoring the ceasefire regime in the CSTO's area of responsibility.' This announcement has become a subject of various political speculations. Many argue that since Armenia is a CSTO member, the organization should call on Azerbaijan to cease fire. Ultimately, how should the CSTO respond to the incidents along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border?

According to Article 4 of the CSTO treaty, 'If one of the member states of the organization is subjected to aggression, such aggression will be considered as aggression against all member states of the treaty. In the event of aggression against any member state, all other member states will provide the necessary assistance to that member state upon its request, including military assistance.' Moreover, according to the organization's charter, in the case of aggression against any of the member states, that state must request assistance from the organization; however, it is noted that official Yerevan has not appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

On July 13, Armenia's Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan only had a phone conversation with CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas, after which the CSTO held a meeting and adopted the aforementioned statement. Thus, it appears that at this stage, as long as Yerevan has not officially approached the organization, the CSTO cannot assist Armenia in any way. Furthermore, during a press briefing in Tavush yesterday, Arzrun Hovhannisyan, who coordinates the information staff's work, remarked that there is no need to address that organization.

Additionally, it should be noted that the CSTO's statements regarding Armenian-Azerbaijani border tensions have consistently been neutral; this organization has never definitively indicated the guilty party and has continually addressed calls for restraint to both sides. Overall, it can be stated that the CSTO's latest statement is not the only instance where neutral and non-specific formulations have been used. In fact, as clear as the provision for assistance is in the CSTO charter, an official request from Yerevan is necessary for this assistance to be realized.

For more details, refer to the current issue of the newspaper.