Russian MFA: It's incorrect to talk about CSTO's help, while conflict taking place in Karabakh

By Trend

It is incorrect to talk about the use of the defensive potential of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin, Trend reports citing the Armenian media.

“The conflict did not reach the territory, and Armenia didn’t make an official request. The CSTO helps its member states in certain situations when there is clear external aggression,” Pankin told reporters.

Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of the Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery on Sept. 27.

Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front. As a result of retaliation, Azerbaijani troops liberated a number of territories previously occupied by Armenia, as well as take important, strategic heights under control.

The fighting continued into October 2020, in the early days of which Armenia has launched missile attacks on Azerbaijani cities of Ganja, Mingachevir, Khizi as well as Absheron district.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, the Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.