CSTO adopts declaration on Karabakh conflict

PanARMENIAN.Net - The CSTO Foreign Ministers Council at a session in Yerevan adopted declarations on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the Syrian crisis, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said Monday, July 4.

According to CSTO Secretary-General Nikolay Bordyuzha, the council addressed urgent issues concerning the international security.

“We express our support to the agreements reached at a May 16 meeting in Vienna and in Saint Petersburg on June 20 that are aimed at reducing tensions in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, establishing stability in the region and renewing the peace process,” Bordyuzha said.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azeri leader Ilham Aliyev met on June 20 in Saint Petersburg to address the conflict, with Russian President Vladimir Putin mediating the talks. The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents confirmed their commitment to the implementation of agreements reached at a Vienna-hosted meeting on May 16. To that end, they have agreed to increase the number of international observers in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone. Also, they expressed satisfaction that the ceasefire was now holding.

Prior to that, a meeting between both leaders was organized on May 16 in Vienna, with top diplomats from the MG co-chairing countries hosting the summit.

The declaration on Karabakh reads: “Restating the necessity for an exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict, we express our support to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship."

The OSCE Foreign Ministers Council on Monday discussed the Organization’s collective security strategy for the period until 2025.