CSTO to realize commitments for Armenia in case of threats, vows Chief of Joint Staff

Citizens of Armenia can be certain that the Collective Security Treaty Organization will not leave them in trouble in case of necessity, Colonel – General Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the Joint Staff of CSTO, said during a Moscow-Yerevan-Astana-Bishkek-Minsk video conference on the topic “Main Military Security Threats to CSTO Member-States. The Colonel General made the comment in response to a question from an Armenian reporter regarding the recent statements of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev when the latter made territorial claims towards Yerevan.

“Let me start by saying that Artsakh is an entity not considered a CSTO member. Armenia is considered a CSTO member, and therefore all decisions and documents in this organization also concern Armenia,” he said, noting that the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are quite tense, but not to an extent “of the two countries taking over each other’s capitals”.

He also mentioned that 2018 is a symbolic year since it is the 15th anniversary of establishment of the CSTO Joint Staff. According to him, the Staff has become a structure which is able to effectively react to modern military security threats and have a stabilizing role in the Eastern European, Caucasian and Central Asian regions.

“I am certain that the organization and the Staff will be able to ensure military security and sovereignty of members states successfully in the future also,” he said.