MOSCOW, 8 October (BelTA) – Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan wants the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh to spread, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas said in an interview with the RT channel, BelTA has learned.
“Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan wants the conflict to spiral into a regional war,” Stanislav Zas said. "That's why I do not see such development of the situation”.
Nevertheless, he stressed, that the CSTO has the appropriate mechanisms in case the situation aggravates and any member state of the organization has the right to ask for help. The situations where the CSTO will have to intervene are clearly spelled out in the regulations, especially in the Collective Security Treaty. “There are two such thresholds. The first is when a state -member of the CSTO faces real threats to its security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the secretary general said. “Then it has the right to apply to the CSTO, to invoke the mechanism of interstate consultations, including, if necessary, emergency consultations, and requests the CSTO assistance or support. The second threshold is a case of aggression, i.e. a military attack. In this case, it will be considered as aggression against all our states. All assistance, including military assistance, is immediately provided. All CSTO response mechanisms are launched In such cases.”
Stanislav Zas spoke against the involvement of third forces in the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh. "Expanding the circle of participants will not do good," he said. “We welcome the participation of those countries that are part of the OSCE Minsk Group and within the framework of the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group. We view the involvement of other parties in this conflict as counterproductive.
The secretary general also did not rule out the presence of foreign mercenaries and militants in the Karabakh conflict zone. “This does not benefit the normalization of relations. It represents a certain challenge not only to the parties involved but also to others. Yet, we are not yet considering building any barriers or taking any additional measures to stop the arrival of militants from Syria and other countries there. We need to study the situation, see what is really going on there. I will repeat this once again: the current situation poses a certain challenge to all of us.
According to Stanislav Zas, the CSTO was probably the first international organization to respond to the resumption of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. “We expressed serious concern over the aggravation of the situation and the violation of the ceasefire and called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to the negotiation process,” he stressed.
“All the CSTO member-states have provided a similar response,” the secretary general added.
