22-02-2012 11:41:30

Russian-led CSTO to back Armenia if Karabakh war erupts

Armenia will receive the required assistance from CSTO if a crisis in its Nagorno Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan emerges, the Russian-led security bloc’s chief has said.

“Armenia is a full-fledged member of CSTO which has rights and commitments. It is obliged to fulfill its commitment to mobilize its potential to ensure collective security of another [member] state and is entitled to the same kind of assistance,” the bloc’s Secretary-General, Nikolai Bordyuzha, told the press.

The statement was met with strong protests in Azerbaijan.

Aydin Mirzazada, a lawmaker from the ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party (YAP), said that Bordyuzha had made a statement “beyond his powers”.

“There is an impression that Bordyuzha is not aware of the organization's charter," Mirzazada said. “The CSTO is meant to ensure the security of member countries, while Nagorno Karabakh is not Armenian territory. The puppet Nagorno Karabakh Republic, established in the Armenia-occupied territories of Azerbaijan, is not recognized today even by Armenia, not to mention the whole world.” 

Nagorno Karabakh has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since a 1994 cease-fire ended a war that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted up to one million Azerbaijanis from their homes. The separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh declared so-called independence at the time of the Soviet collapse in 1991, defying international law.

This story is published by AzerNEWS Weekly under a project funded by the Foundation for State Assistance to the Development of the Media under the President of the Azerbaijan Republic.

TAGS: Armenia, CSTO, crisis, Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan emerges, Russia, Nikolai Bordyuzha, Aydin Mirzazada, Yeni Azerbaijan Party, Nagorno Karabakh Republic