Thursday, February 27 2020 14:23

ArmInfo.The CSTO considers premature the entry into the organization of new members, including Azerbaijan.

So, on February 27, during a round table on the topic "The role of  the Collective Security Treaty Organization in ensuring security in  the Caucasus region" in Yerevan, Igor Panarin, secretary of the  Secretariat, responding to the question about the possibility of  Azerbaijan joining the Collective Security Treaty Organization,  assured that any discussion on the possibility of Azerbaijan's entry  to the Collective Security Treaty Organization prematurely.

"If you look at the organization's regulatory documents, we have a  number of requirements. In particular, there is a consensus rule.  Therefore, I would not be in a hurry to assess which states can enter  these procedural moments. This is a debatable issue," Panarin said,  in this context he recalled that two of the six CSTO countries have  not yet ratified documents suggesting the introduction of the  institution of observers.  In this regard, he urged to wait for the  ratification of the document, and only then, if a country expresses a  desire to work with the CSTO in observer status, it will be possible  to speak on this topic in more detail. 

"However, the organization is ready to consider any applications from  states interested in peace and security in the Eurasian space, be it  Azerbaijan or Mongolia," the representative of the CSTO Secretariat  added. In turn, the Russian ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin  agreed with Panarin's words about the need to ensure consensus when  new members are accepted into the military alliance.  Meanwhile,  Russian Ambassador Igor Nazaruk stated that such manifestations could  be considered as a positive step, given the existence of a common  historical past within the USSR. "There were no territorial claims or  conflicts in this large family, so many peoples lived peacefully side  by side. That is why I believe that the trend in this direction would  be right," Nazaruk concluded.

It should be noted that official Yerevan has repeatedly emphasized  its negative attitude towards the prospects of Azerbaijan's entry  into the CSTO. In Armenia, they emphasized that they would use the  veto right in the event that Azerbaijan expresses a desire to join  the CSTO or the Eurasian Economic Union.