Armenia: Early to seek CSTO action after Azerbaijan's border shooting

PanARMENIAN.Net - Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan has said that in order for Armenia to apply to the Collective Security Treaty Organization, there should be aggression against the country.

Kocharyan told reporters on Tuesday, October 20 that it's early to count Azerbaijan's shooting from across the border as aggression, Aysor.am reports.

"If Armenia is attacked, we must first notify the United Nations that there is aggression against us․ We'll also apply to the CSTO, it is all regulated," Kocharyan said.

"Our not formally applying to the CSTO does not mean we're not working with the CSTO. We are in constant communication but I am hoping there will be no need for applying to the CSTO."

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey and Syrian and Libyan mercenaries deployed by Ankara, started a war against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. Foreign and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages.

Donations can be made to Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, which has launched a fundraising campaign to support humanitarian efforts in Karabakh.