Attack on Armenian Territory Is Equivalent to Attack on CSTO: Edmon Marukyan

Dear compatriots, through communication with our fellow citizens living in the regions, we have understood that people have certain fears that the enemy may encroach upon their settlements, as the border is now very close to their communities. This was stated by the leader of the 'Enlightened Armenia' faction of the National Assembly, Edmon Marukyan, on his Facebook page.

He specifically noted: “I would like to inform you that the Republic of Armenia is in the same security zone as the Russian Federation, under the operational conditions of the military-political legal framework mentioned below:

• On May 15, 1992, the Collective Security Treaty was signed. The Republic of Armenia is a founding member of the CSTO. An attack on the territory of Armenia is equivalent to an attack on the entire CSTO, as under Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty, any aggression against one of the member states (armed attacks threatening security, stability, territorial integrity, and sovereignty) is regarded by the participating states as aggression against all states party to the treaty—with corresponding military-political consequences.
• On September 30, 1992, an agreement was signed between the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation regarding the status of the Russian border troops stationed in Armenia, which stipulates that the Russian border guards carry out the protection of the state border with Iran and Turkey in cooperation with Armenian border guards.
• On August 29, 1997, an agreement on friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance was signed between the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation, which came into force on November 5, 1998.
• On September 27, 2000, an agreement on joint planning for the deployment of forces between the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation was signed, which came into force on December 19, 2000.
• On November 30, 2016, an agreement on the joint group of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation was signed in Moscow based on the CSTO treaty, which was ratified by the Russian Federation on July 19, 2017, and by the Republic of Armenia on October 5, 2017. This agreement is also in effect.
• On December 23, 2015, an agreement was signed between the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation to create a unified regional air defense system in the Caucasus region of collective security, which came into force on January 11, 2017.

In other words, under the existing legal frameworks in the Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia, it must produce the same military-political consequences. In any case, I believe it is necessary for us to update our legal framework by signing a new security-related agreement with our strategic partner, the Russian Federation. This will also alleviate the aforementioned concerns of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia regarding the security of our territory.”