President speaks on foreign policy interaction issues in CSTO

Interfax, Russia
Dec 20 2012

Armenian president speaks on foreign policy interaction issues in CSTO

MOSCOW. Dec 20

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said Azerbaijan’s stance on the
Karabakh issue remains a threat to regional security and raised the
question about the effectiveness of interaction in the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

“The destructive approach adopted by Azerbaijan on the issue of the
Nagorny Karabakh conflict settlement remains a serious security threat
to the Southern Caucasus region,” Sargsyan told the CSTO Collective
Security Council.

Sargsyan said it is manifested in the Azeri authorities’ unwillingness
or inability to follow the logic of the negotiation process, which is
clearly stated in the numerous statements by the presidents of the
countries co-chairing the Minsk OSCE Group.

“We are convinced that the only way to resolve the current conflicts
is through negotiation. We are working on the assumption that the
resumption of military action after a truce achieved by the parties
and even the threats of such resumption are direct violations of the
principles of international law and the most shortsighted way to a new
wave of violence,” Sargsyan said.

Sargsyan also addressed the issue of effectiveness of foreign policy
interaction in CSTO.

“It’s difficult to explain a situation when our numerous requests made
to our partners in CSTO to prevent Azerbaijan from passing a one-sided
wording essentially remain unanswered,” Sargsyan said.