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The speech of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan at the December 21 session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) Collective Security Council was notable first of all for its targeted messages addressed to CSTO members, political scientist Tigran Abrahamyan told Panorama.am.

The presidential press service reported that in particular, President Sargsyan said in his speech that “in the evolvement of the situation related to the downing of the Russian aircraft, we witnessed how active political and military alliances are being formed. Unequivocal support extended to Turkey by the NATO member states, including, for instance, Greece reveals that “one for all, and all for one” principle is an indispensible prerequisite for the efficient functioning of such structures”.

“We need to learn from that. There is no doubt that each country has its own interests, its own priorities, however they should not be cited against our common interests and mutual obligations. Every time when the armed forces of Azerbaijan use guns, rocket mortars, or artillery against the Republic of Armenia, they are firing at Astana, Dushanbe, Bishkek, Moscow, and Minsk. I would like to remind that we have a corresponding article in our Charter, and if we don’t implement that article, if we don’t discuss the situation, if we don’t view it as necessary to pick up the phone and make a call to learn what’s going on in the allied Armenia and along with that vote against each other’s interests in international organizations, adopt with third countries bilateral declarations the essence of which is aimed against the CSTO allies, we simply bring under that fire our entire Organization, its reputation, and significance,” the Armenian president said.

Commenting on Serzh Sargsyan’s speech, the political scientist said that it is no accident that the president cited the example of Greece in the context of Russia-Turkey tensions – although Greece  has friendly ties with Russia, but quite problematic relations with Turkey, it as a NATO member  expressed unequivocal support for Ankara.

“Let’s look at what we have. Amid armed clashes on the frontline, with their indirect statements via different channels some CSTO members want to explain their inertness by friendly relations with Azerbaijan. The same can be said regarding Turkey. No doubt, each state has its own foreign policy agenda and its own political line, but as CSTO members they must take into account the Organization’s Charter, mutual obligations, and interests of the other members of the alliance,” the expert noted. 

According to Tigran Abrahamyan, the principles underlying the establishment and activities of CSTO also require mutual support on international platforms, which means that CSTO member states should not endorse an initiative that contradict the interests of the Organization’s other members.

The expert said that earlier S. Sargsyan also made a similar statement. “The public ‘reminders’ of the Armenian president  concerning the activities in line with the Charter were apparently unpleasant to the addressees, especially as the violation of the charter’s article was clearly indicated. Anyway, I think that CSTO member states will make the necessary analysis and draw conclusions. Otherwise, a problem related to the Organization’s role and authority may arise,” Tigran Abrahamyan said.