CSTO Abandoned Us, Says Armenian Ambassador to EU

It is essential to clarify why Armenia is dissatisfied with the CSTO. This dissatisfaction did not arise due to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nor did it stem from the ethnic cleansing and military operations by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, but rather from military actions on Armenian territory. Our complaints date back to May 2021, when there were attacks on Armenian territory, positions were seized within Armenia, and after requesting assistance from our CSTO partners, we did not even receive an official response. The same applies to Russia. This was stated by Tigran Balayan, Armenia's ambassador to the EU, in an interview with The Moscow Times.

“This is our main grievance regarding the CSTO. It is not even capable of issuing a statement indicating that Armenia's territorial integrity has been violated. When we hear that the CSTO is ready to send observers to the Armenian border, a question arises: to which border? Where is the border? Do the CSTO and Russia recognize the borders of one of this organization's founding members, Armenia? We have not heard this so far, neither in public statements nor behind closed doors.

First, there was no consensus on what happened and why Armenia requested assistance. You know, one does not need to be an expert in international relations to see with the naked eye that, for instance, the relationship between the Belarusian leader and the dictator of Baku is very warm. They are at the highest level. And the interstate relations that depend on the relationships between the leaders are warmer and more friendly than Lukashenko's attitude towards the Armenian leadership. Lukashenko regularly criticizes Armenia for one reason or another. I believe that Lukashenko is not someone who can afford to criticize my authorities.

When there were disturbances in Kazakhstan (January 2022), it took just a few minutes to reach a consensus to send troops to assist the Kazakh government. I believe that, with great willingness and even without much desire, it would have been possible to reach a consensus regarding Azerbaijan's aggression against Armenia, if not within a few hours, at least within a few days. But since May 2021, we have been stuck in place.

When Armenia was presiding over the CSTO, all our actions were aimed at strengthening this organization's image and reputation on the international stage. As Armenia’s ambassador to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), I personally organized a joint statement from the CSTO countries within the framework of the OPCW Executive Council. This was an Armenian initiative. For the first time, we ensured that a CSTO representative was invited to an OPCW meeting. Not to mention our initiatives in other international organizations, such as the OSCE, and so on. And now it is doubly painful to see how the CSTO abandoned us.

Last week, the President of Kazakhstan visited us. Although it has not been publicly stated, I believe the issue has been raised that this cannot continue,” the ambassador noted.