Serzh Sargsyan voiced call for sobriety – parliament official praises president’s CSTO speech
In an interview with Tert.am, Vice Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov commented upon President Serzh Sargsyan’s speech at the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s recent summit, describing it as a strong call for sobriety.
Mr Sharmazanov, what’s your evaluation of President Serzh Sargsyan’s speech at the CSTO’s Collective Security Council Summit?
First of all, it was a heartfelt speech by a leader of a country chairing the CSTO. Secondly, it was a national leader’s speech, as the president of Armenia, citing Turkey and NATO’s example, clearly called upon the ally countries’ leaders to fulfill mutual duties stemming from that alliance and saying that if certain member states believe that the shootings along the borders of Armenia have nothing to do with them, it isn’t absolutely the case. So his very remark saying that any shooting against us implies also a direct shooting against Dushanbe, Moscow, Minsk and Astana, is very important. If the same ally countries face shooting, that would be perceived by Armenia and the president of Armenia as a shooting against us. Addressing the SU-124 incident, Mr President noted that we must stand by the Russian Federation, which is our ally, to offer our support and demand a likewise attitude in case of [threats] against Armenia. It was also a call for sobriety by a statesman and a politician, who also reminded that there are ally states whose statements not only fall short of meeting Armenia’s interests but also run counter to the interests in the [Nagorno-Karabakh conflict] settlement efforts. I think that certain states do really have to draw conclusions. Hence the Republic of Armenia made such kind of statement for two reasons: first, because it has really fulfilled its commitments as an ally over the past years, guiding itself by its own tasks, and secondly, the CSTO is a serious organization, and if we believe that it has really to be an acclaimed international political-military body, our statement made there should not be formal, but rather - express mutual support so that the alliance would differ from other format of relations. If Kazakhstan or any other state is an ally of the Republic of Armenia, their relationship [with us] should be clearly different. And that has to be everywhere, whether in a statement or in any other format.
The Armenian president also did not rule out Azerbaijan may have been egged on to use tank fire by an external force, or with external support.
Of course, Turkey’s finger is clearly seen as escalation has intensified, especially after the Russian-Turkish relations worsened. I do not say it was the cause, but the tension has increased since then. Secondly, the situation worsened after Ahmet Davutoğlu publicly stated he was supportive of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu echoing him. That is, such statements by Turkey give cart blanch to Azerbaijan. And Turkey should be seen behind Azerbaijan’s actions.
How is the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) expected to respond to such statements?
I would like to say that it is not only the CSTO, but also the states involved that are supposed to respond -not only in the context of the border situation, but also in terms of diplomacy. I can cite numerous examples when the CSTO member-states did not defend Armenia’s positions. As head of the Armenian delegation to the CSTO, with the participation of all the delegations to the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, I raised the question of our partners’ duty to honor their allied commitments and stressed the unacceptability of actions or statements that would threaten another CSTO member-state’s interests. And that statement was made at the presidential level, which was a call for soberness, a clear message to the effect that we, as CSTO member-states, are guided not only by our own narrow interests, but also by the CSTO member-states’ common interests. And if the CSTO’s ambition is to be a normal politico-military organization, it should not be a formal structure. Rather, the member-states must defend their allies – there is no alternative. An alliance implies that your allies’ problems are you own problems. And if such an attitude lacks, the organization has problems.
Mr Sharmazanov, following the meetings and such a speech, could we conclude that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has entered a certain stage?
Of course, not. If you mean a solution to the problem, it first of all requires establishment of peace in the region. Number one task now is maintaining peace to prevent escalation into war. Number one task is to show Azerbaijan its place - both the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and the international community and our CSTO allies. And when European states’ commissions adopt absurd resolutions, let such resolutions call on all the sides, primarily Azerbaijan, to realize a need for an exclusively peaceful settlement of the problem, which the US Department of State has done today by clearly stating that the United States remains firmly committed to mediating a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and any attempts to destabilize the situation could cause serious problems to the sides. This is a clear message to Azerbaijan, and we know well which of the sides is destabilizing the situation.
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