Lavrov: Armenia would benefit from CSTO deployment

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has weighed in on the possibility of deployment of a CSTO mission in the South Caucasus, claiming that Armenia would benefit from it and get a more stable situation.

Lavrov said in an interview with the Tsargrad TV channel on Wednesday, May 17 that ahead of the CSTO summit in Yerevan in the fall of 2022, a document on the deployment of a CSTO observer mission on Armenian territory had been prepared in accordance with Yerevan’s request.

“The document was fully agreed upon at the level of foreign ministers. Then, at the last moment, at the summit itself, Armenian friends asked to postpone its adoption," Lavrov said.

He noted that until now the document remains on the paper and cannot be implemented.

"But if Yerevan confirmed what has already been agreed upon, I am convinced that Armenia would benefit from it and get a more stable situation," he said.

Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the Prague Center for Transatlantic Relations that there were certain difficulties in relations with the CSTO. “We believe that the CSTO has not been able to fulfill the obligations it has to Armenia. Last year, we were unable to reach a consensus with the CSTO. We have stated our position and expressed our displeasure to the Organization. We are frank and transparent, and this creates additional difficulties,” Pashinyan said back then.