Russian MP plays down Armenia's call for CSTO mission on Azeri border

PanARMENIAN.Net - Leonid Kalashnikov, Chairman of the Committee for CIS Affairs at Russia's State Duma, has described the proposal by acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to deploy the CSTO monitoring mission along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as a political one.

On Thursday, July 29, Pashinyan proposed that the CSTO deploy a monitoring mission along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. According to him, in case a CSTO mission is impossible, internationally recognized other formats, including the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group, may be acceptable.

“Such security matters are most often resolved in silence. Statements in the presence of the press are made when you need to score some political points, to establish yourself in the government, in parliament or elsewhere," Kalashnikov said on Thursday, July 29, Interfax reports.

According to Kalashnikov, "the issue is very difficult, serious, and it should first of all be resolved" by the leaders Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The lawmaker also claimed that incidents on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan "are, thank God, rare."

In the wee hours of July 28, the Azerbaijani armed forces attacked the Armenian positions in Gegharkunik province, triggering local battles. Three Armenian troops were killed, five others were wounded in the process, the Defense Ministry said, adding that the Azerbaijani forces have been thwarted back to their positions. The Azerbaijanis fired on Armenian positions on July 29 too, injuring one more soldier.