Azerbaijan Prepares New Aggression in the Region, CSTO May Also Get Involved in the War - Abrahamyan

The Secretary of the "Honorary Title" faction of the National Assembly of Armenia, Tigran Abrahamyan, delivered a speech during a discussion on the humanitarian crisis unleashed by Azerbaijan in Artsakh at the Permanent Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly.

“Dear colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the developments occurring in the South Caucasus, which is a zone of vital interests for the CSTO. As you know, Azerbaijan is making territorial demands on Armenia, one of the founding members of the CSTO, and if these demands are not met, Azerbaijan is essentially threatening a new war. Aliyev directly states that if Armenia wants to live in peace, it must carry out border delimitation on Azerbaijan's terms. This means direct Azerbaijani control over vast territories and numerous settlements of CSTO member Armenia.

These threats from Aliyev are accompanied by provocative actions against Armenia and Artsakh. In fact, in the last week alone, during one of the provocations, unfortunately, an Armenian serviceman was killed. In another incident, Azerbaijanis fired upon a vehicle carrying Russian soldiers, resulting in two members being hospitalized.

The situation in Artsakh is even more severe. In the past month, incidents of gunfire targeting peaceful residents have been recorded, and police vehicles in the Armenian part of the contact line have been shot at, resulting in three fatalities. Furthermore, there has been a gross violation of the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, with Azerbaijan crossing the contact line and making advances in such areas that disrupt the functionality of key infrastructure, specifically the inter-village road.

The Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in Artsakh are making efforts to control the situation and maintain the ceasefire regime; however, the issue requires political solutions. Azerbaijan is not only violating the tripartite documents accepted by the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, which established the ceasefire after the 44-day war, but is also advancing new maximalist demands, jeopardizing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of CSTO member Armenia.

The dynamics of recent developments indicate that Azerbaijan is preparing for new aggression in the region, which means that the CSTO may also get involved in the war. I would like to remind you of the joint statement made by the heads of CSTO member states on October 14, 2016, which enshrines the principle of non-use of force or the threat of force in the context of the Artsakh issue. I believe it is our duty to prevent such developments and to compel Azerbaijan to retreat from such intentions through concrete steps.”