Armenian army chief: We expect serious response from CSTO

September 30, 2015 By administrator

Yuri Khachaturov

YEREVAN. – There is no need in deployment of peacekeeping forces in the Karabakh conflict area at the moment, chief of the Armenian Armed Forces Yuri Khachaturov told reporters.

“We are able to cope with provocations organized by Azerbaijan every day,” Colonel General Khachaturov said during the opening of “Indestructible Brotherhood 2015” military exercises.

Azerbaijani side used several thousands of mines and mortars over the last 15 days, they went off in the Armenian villages, military outposts, 10 kilometers far from the front line.

“We have responded adequately, they suffered significant losses,” Khachaturov said, adding that the Armenian Armed Forces, unlike Azerbaijan, are not shelling the villages.

Representatives of the Armenian Defense Ministry visit the border villages and meet with locals.

“However, the incident cannot be ruled out fully, since the adversary uses mine throwers and howitzers,” he added.

The Armenian side has repeatedly proposed Azerbaijan to withdraw snipers, to conduct an investigation into each case of civilian death, but Azerbaijan refused.

Asked about the absence of an appropriate response from CSTO, Colonel General noted that, indeed, it would be desirable, but there is no serious response yet.

“We are members of one security bloc, we are not asking for help yet, but we would like to see support, a purely human support,” he emphasized.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

Armenia To Host More CSTO Drills

March 23, 2015 By administrator

Armenia – Soldiers lined up for a CSTO military exercise near Yerevan,

The head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) visited Yerevan on Monday for a second time in less than two months to discuss preparations for military exercises which the Russian-led defense pact will hold in Armenia this year.

According to official Armenian sources, the issue topped the agenda of Nikolay Bordyuzha’s talks with President Serzh Sarkisian and Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian. They gave no dates for the annual exercises codenamed “Indestructible Brotherhood.”

The most recent CSTO drills took place in Kyrgyzstan in July-August last year. They involved about 1,000 troops from the six ex-Soviet states aligned in the bloc: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Armenia most recently hosted major CSTO exercises in September 2012. The 2,000 or so participating troops were part of the CSTO’s Collective Operational Reaction Forces (CORF) created in 2009. The war games were watched by then Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

Bordyuzha and Lieutenant-General Aleksandr Studenikin, the CSTO’s top military official accompanying him, also discussed with the Armenian leaders regional security. Sarkisian’s press office said they spoke about the CSTO’s role in “maintaining security in the Caucasus region.” It did not elaborate.

Bordyuzha expressed serious concern at the latest escalation of fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone during his previous visit to Armenia in early February.

Speaking at a January 30 news conference in Moscow, Bordyuzha reportedly ruled out a direct CSTO intervention in the Karabakh conflict. Armenian critics of close military ties with Russia seized upon those remarks to again accuse the CSTO of failing to honor its defense obligations to a member state.

Ohanian dismissed such criticism earlier in January. He insisted that the Armenian army is strong enough to contain Azerbaijan without a direct Russian or CSTO intervention.

Armenian president joins CSTO session in Moscow

December 23, 2014 By administrator

As part of his visit to the Russian Federation, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has taken part in the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) council session in Moscow.

Narrow-format talks, chaired by CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Borduzha, were followed an extended meeting attended by the member states’ leaders (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan).

In his speech at the event, President Sargsyan first thanked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for the invitation and a traditionally warm reception, praising further the Russian partners for a warm cooperation and essential collaborative efforts in the past year.

According to a press release by the Presidential Office, the Armenian leader highlighted the CSTO’s role in promoting a future cooperation, deepening technical-military joint efforts and resisting current threats and challenges.

“The documents we have adopted today are aimed at providing a collective and coordinated response to emerging challenges and existing problems. I am confident that they will serve the CSTO development interests, offering benefits to our countries and peoples,” Sargsyan said, expressing hope for future security and peace guarantees.

On behalf of the member states’ leaders, the president said they hope that future decision making processes will raise also the CSTO’s reputation.

“I think the launch of collective air forces will be quite to the point in the continuing development of cooperation among the CSTO member states. I would like to also highlight the importance of measures towards enhancing technical-military cooperation.

“I am sure that the information security package will essentially enhance cooperation in among our countries in this sector,” he added.