July 17, 2009 - 19:40 AMT
CSTO not going to participate in Karabakh conflict settlement
"No one has asked us to act as peacekeepers in Karabakh, and today's media reports concerning the issue are untrue. Besides, Azerbaijan is not a CSTO member state, and we cannot deploy forces on its territory without obtaining its consent. Our charter clearly states that the organization cannot implement military operations on the territory of a non-member state," CSTO says in a press release.
The organization cannot take part in peacekeeping or other operations unless requested to do so. "We do not deal with Karabakh issue and cannot therefore say anything with regard to such information," release goes on saying.
Referring to an anonymous Kyrgiz expert, media have today disseminated information on CSTO's readiness to take part in peacekeeping mission in Karabakh conflict zone.
Peacekeeping mission was deemed to be the only operation possible on the zone, since the deployment of western forces could arouse Iran's negative reaction, CSTO informed sources quote expert as saying.
-lk-