Yesterday in Moscow the RA President Serzh Sargsyan made a speech at the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, during which he spoke about the CSTO pact and the charter, by mentioning that the offered changes not only accelerate the methods of the organization to respond to military crises but also regulate issues pertaining to the development and adoption of the steps aimed at the elimination of threats which also expand in scope. “The second important issue I would like to invite your attention to is the provision fixed in the documents of our Organization which allows the adoption of the decisions in the limited format. Tragic events which took place during last spring and summer revealed a legal gap which actually thwarted any opportunity to make rapid decisions about rendering necessary assistance through the CSTO mechanisms. I am confident that availability of a practical mechanism for the adoption of such decisions, along with the mechanism of preventive action will allow to utilize the potential of the CSTO at the initial stages of the critical situation, averting its unfolding into crisis. I attach equal importance to the adoption at the today’s session of the documents aimed at the improvement of the existing legal field which define the status and sequence of formation and deployment of the forces and means of the collective security system, as well as methods of adopting decisions regarding their use. It becomes particularly important in the light of comprehensive use of the Rapid Response forces of the Organization. It in turn increases the importance of the adoption by the Council of the legal regulations prepared by the CSTO interstate commission on military and economic cooperation and directed at further enhancement of the military, technical and economic cooperation. We often speak about the necessity to conduct more coordinated actions regarding critical issues of the foreign policies of the member states. An important step on that direction was our consolidated support of Kazakhstan’s candidacy for the OSCE Chairmanship. Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank President Nazarbaev for the excellent organization of the Summit in Astana and great efforts aimed at boosting the activities of that important organization. The Summit in Astana revealed the urgency of the issues of the agenda of the OSCE as well as the necessity of conducting in-depth and thorough discussions in its framework. At the Summit in Astana, the Presidents of the countries – Co-chairs of the Minsk Group and the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan adopted a multilateral declaration. It states that search for a peaceful solution for the NK conflict based on negotiations and aimed at the establishment of stability, durable peace and mutual understanding between the nations has no alternative. It was also stressed that the solution should be found based on the UN Charter and basic documents of the OSCE, in the spirit of the Declarations made by the Co-Chair states in Aquila and Moscow. The President of Russia, Prime Minister of France and the US Secretary of State spoke about the inadmissibility of the use of force or threat to use force and declared that the proposed elements constitute one whole and any attempt to give preference to one over the others would ruin any chance to achieve a balanced solution. In my statement at the Summit I repeated things I said before during official and unofficial meetings, i.e. Armenia is categorically opposed to the military solution of the problem and in case Azerbaijan takes on a new military jaunt, Armenia will be left with no alternative but to recognize the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh de jure and ensure security of its population through all available means. I am confident that our future efforts to fill our agreements with content as well as the documents which we discussed and adopted today, will be aimed at the enhancement of the CSTO’s role in strengthening the regional and international security,” said the president in his speech.
