The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) secretary-general, Stanislav Zas, yesterday (29 July) published a statement expressing serious concern at the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border following the death of three and wounding of four Armenian soldiers in clashes on 28 July. Expressing his condolences to the families of the deceased and wishing a "speedy recovery" to the injured, Zas stated:
“Serious concern is caused by the danger of further escalation of tension in the region, which could have a negative impact on the implementation of the agreements in the trilateral format, enshrined in the Statement of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia of November 10, 2020.”
Before welcoming efforts by Russia to stabilise the situation in the region, his statement adds, “We consider the use of force unacceptable. Only political and diplomatic methods should be used to resolve contradictions.”
The statement came on the same day that the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, suggested that a CSTO observer mission could be deployed on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as a “possible solution to the deadlock”. Armenia is expected to take over the rotating chairmanship of the CSTO on 16 September and Pashinyan yesterday officially ruled out any provocative actions on the part of Armenian armed forces, acknowledging his country’s responsibility “in terms of not creating security threats for the CSTO, not getting allied countries involved in military operations”.
On 13 May, Pashinyan appealed to the CSTO to trigger article 2 of the Collective Security Treaty – joint consultations to co-ordinate positions and act against a “menace to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty of one or several Member States” – over the alleged incursion by Azerbaijan troops in Armenia’s Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces. On 3 July, Zas said that the situation was a “border incident” and thus, did not fall under the provisions of the treaty.