May 17, 2021 - 13:27 AMT
Top Armenian diplomat to participate in key CSTO meeting on May 19

Acting Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian will participate in the session of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers on May 19, the Foreign Ministry reports.

Armenia has asked for help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, of which it is a member, amid continued encroachment on its soil by Azerbaijan in recent days.

Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Monday, May 17 that there is growing aggression by the Azerbaijani forces and tensions in some parts of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. He said Armenia is intensifying procedures under the Collective Security Treaty and the Armenian-Russian strategic system.

On the morning of May 12, the armed forces of Azerbaijan violated the border of Armenia in the southern province of Syunik, advancing 3.5 kilometers and surrounding Sev Lake, which is situated on the border between the two countries but is predominantly a part of Armenia. On May 13, the Azerbaijani military committed more border violations against Armenia, advancing near Vardenis (Gegharkunik province) and Sisian (Syunik province). No official information has been published in the past two days. on Sunday, May 16 evening, opposition lawmaker Naira Zohrabyan said in a since-deleted Facebook post that the Azerbaijanis have agreed to withdraw from Armenia's territories with preconditions, failing to name them.