VIDEO: We are closely monitoring developments in Afghanistan and its surroundings - Pashinyan's speech at the joint CSTO and SCO meeting

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, participated in Dushanbe in a joint meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), attended by the heads of member states either in person or via remote formats. During the meeting, the situation in Afghanistan was discussed.

“We are closely monitoring developments in Afghanistan and its surroundings. The international community welcomed the preliminary announcements regarding the end of military actions, the general amnesty of government officials, the intention to create an inclusive coalition government, respect for women's rights within the Islamic legal system, and the desire to eliminate drug production in the country. The swift and full implementation of such initiatives would contribute to the establishment of peace, order, and stability in the country. However, we must record that at this stage, these intentions have not yet been concretely reflected in the actions taken by the Taliban,” Pashinyan stated.

“We are confident that the guarantee for a long-term resolution of the situation in Afghanistan is a fair political process involving all Afghans and representatives of all ethnic and religious communities in the country. Therefore, it is crucial for all parties to exercise restraint and reaffirm their readiness to resolve differences exclusively through dialogue and negotiations.”

“As a member of the CSTO, we would like to see peace and tranquility prevail throughout the entire perimeter of the CSTO responsibility zone and in all areas of collective security. Armenia is significantly interested in effectively countering the threat of international terrorism in the CSTO and SCO regions. Failure to respond adequately at the right time may lead to further radicalization of the situation and the infiltration of terrorist networks into neighboring countries, particularly conflict zones,” he added.

“We strongly condemn terrorism and extremism in all their forms and manifestations. It is especially unacceptable for individual countries to exploit terrorist organizations to achieve specific geopolitical objectives. In this regard, we call for closer dialogue and cooperation, primarily at the level of law enforcement agencies and special services, aimed at sharing information and experiences, as well as implementing effective joint actions to neutralize the threat of terrorism within the framework of our organization's operational mechanisms.”

“Thank you for your attention.”