Armenian defense chief threatens Azerbaijan with Russian-backed security bloc
YEREVAN – Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian has threatened to avail of the assistance of CSTO, a Russian-led security bloc comprising Armenia, if Azerbaijan moves to launch military action to free its territories that have been occupied since a war in the early 1990s.
"If Azerbaijan launches military action against Nagorno Karabakh, we will become fully engaged in this process to discourage the ‘aggressor’ from its intentions, because Armenia is the guarantor of the Nagorno Karabakh people’s safety," Ohanian was quoted by Armenian media as saying at an international conference in Yerevan.
"We solved this issue independently in 1994 [by signing a ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan]. Given that Armenia is a CSTO member today, we reserve the right to an adequate response and the support of our CSTO allies," the Armenian minister told the conference, titled "the Collective Security Treaty Organization and South Caucasus: prospects of regional peace and security".
One of the organization’s commitments is to provide military aid to a CSTO member in the event of a military threat.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war over Nagorno Karabakh that ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994. The separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh held an illegal referendum in 1991 with the participation of only Armenian residents. The voters supported so-called independence of the region, which has not been recognized by the international community.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has called Ohanian’s statement "nonsense".
"Azerbaijan is neither leveling demands to any other country’s territory nor threatening any state," it said in a statement. "But Azerbaijan reserves the right to avail of all mechanisms enshrined in international law to restore its territorial integrity. Armenia is an invader that has occupied Azerbaijani territory, and is still threatening Azerbaijan."
CSTO secretary-general Nikolai Bordyuzha told the Yerevan conference that the bloc "decisively opposes" a military solution of the Karabakh conflict, saying such conflicts must be resolved based on international law which rules out use of force.
"Our organization supports the sides’ seeking a mutually acceptable solution within the existing format of the negotiating process," Bordyuzha said. "It is the very efforts of the [mediating] OSCE Minsk Group, in conjunction with those of the Russian president, that are facilitating advances in the settlement process. This is crucial, considering the danger posed by attempts to shift the process to other formats."
The CSTO chief also claimed that tensions could rise in the South Caucasus region due to Azerbaijan’s belligerent rhetoric.
About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since the Karabakh war. Peace talks brokered by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far. Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly warned that the country’s land will be freed at any cost.