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CSTO VS. ARMENIA
The XI CSTO Interstate Committee on Military-Economic Cooperation
was held in Yerevan. The agenda included the issue on assistance in
defense of borders of Tajikistan which the CSTO presidents had agreed
earlier in Sochi.
Recently CSTO has been said to be taking a peacekeeping test after
which it will be able to participate in peacekeeping missions under
the UN mandate. It is not known yet which country will be honored to
accept the CSTO peacekeepers.
It is not known either whether Armenia will agree to send its troops
to the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. In any case, there have
been no official statements.
Instead, recently the RPA deputy leader Edward Sharmazanov made
a vociferous statement. He said that Serzh Sargsyan sent some
messages during the CSTO session in Sochi. First, Armenia treats
further development of CSTO from the point of view of sovereignty
and security. Second, the key priority for Armenia is the security
and international recognition of Karabakh. Third, a biased position
on the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict by CSTO member
states is unacceptable.
This means that the CSTO does not have an agreed approach towards a
lot of important problems, including the Karabakh issue. More exactly,
there is an agreed position on Karabakh but it is not in line with
Armenia's perceptions.
Armenia still remains in the CSTO and is even obliged to host the
sessions of the Council. However, it is obvious that the very first
"combat test" of the bloc which will be ten years this year will
reveal its acute lack of agreement and controversies. This might be
the reason why CSTO has avoided participation in military political
actions. Obviously, the very first action will result in the collapse
of the bloc the members of which have no common foes and goals. While
Russia considers NATO a foe or at least a competitor, Armenia is
quite friendly to NATO.
In this context, the CSTO has an intimidating and preventive role
for the members of the block rather than its "foes". Russia holds
its members with the help of such phantom unions as the Eurasian Union.
These unions pursue the sole purpose of drawing a line between the
pro-Russian block and the rest of the world.
Naira Hayrumyan 21:06 03/10/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/31020
The XI CSTO Interstate Committee on Military-Economic Cooperation
was held in Yerevan. The agenda included the issue on assistance in
defense of borders of Tajikistan which the CSTO presidents had agreed
earlier in Sochi.
Recently CSTO has been said to be taking a peacekeeping test after
which it will be able to participate in peacekeeping missions under
the UN mandate. It is not known yet which country will be honored to
accept the CSTO peacekeepers.
It is not known either whether Armenia will agree to send its troops
to the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. In any case, there have
been no official statements.
Instead, recently the RPA deputy leader Edward Sharmazanov made
a vociferous statement. He said that Serzh Sargsyan sent some
messages during the CSTO session in Sochi. First, Armenia treats
further development of CSTO from the point of view of sovereignty
and security. Second, the key priority for Armenia is the security
and international recognition of Karabakh. Third, a biased position
on the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict by CSTO member
states is unacceptable.
This means that the CSTO does not have an agreed approach towards a
lot of important problems, including the Karabakh issue. More exactly,
there is an agreed position on Karabakh but it is not in line with
Armenia's perceptions.
Armenia still remains in the CSTO and is even obliged to host the
sessions of the Council. However, it is obvious that the very first
"combat test" of the bloc which will be ten years this year will
reveal its acute lack of agreement and controversies. This might be
the reason why CSTO has avoided participation in military political
actions. Obviously, the very first action will result in the collapse
of the bloc the members of which have no common foes and goals. While
Russia considers NATO a foe or at least a competitor, Armenia is
quite friendly to NATO.
In this context, the CSTO has an intimidating and preventive role
for the members of the block rather than its "foes". Russia holds
its members with the help of such phantom unions as the Eurasian Union.
These unions pursue the sole purpose of drawing a line between the
pro-Russian block and the rest of the world.
Naira Hayrumyan 21:06 03/10/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/31020