Issue of granting status to Azerbaijan at CSTO is not being discussed – Acting Secretary General

The decision on granting the status of a partner, observer or member to any country in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is being made by consensus, Acting CSTO Secretary General Valery Semerikov told reporters on September 12.

Commenting on rumors on granting a status to Azerbaijan in the CSTO, Semerikov said no application has been submitted by Azerbaijan, and this issue has not been discussed.

“Where is this information from? Somebody from somewhere said his personal opinion, and the discussion of this issue starts. This is not correct. There are procedural rules, demands which were adopted by the CSTO member states and should be implemented definitely. Only after this the issue of the status can be discussed”, he said.

He noted that the status issue in particular is adopted by strictly keeping the consensus.

“If the approval of one of the CSTO states is absent, there cannot be any decision, of course. Charter and treaty exist for this through which we are guided. You perhaps have been convinced for several times, I even saw how long the issue of the appointment of the CSTO Secretary General lasted. The decision was not made until we came to a consensus and all member states signed”, Semerikov said.

The acting CSTO chief said the organization’s doors are open to all countries, and each state can wish to become a partner, observer or member in the organization, but there are certain restrictions and all are presented in normative documents.