Asia - Pacific

Russia-led military bloc CSTO to meet Tuesday at Armenia's request

Moscow calls on both Azerbaijan and Armenia to exercise restraint, strictly observe cease-fire

Elena Teslova  | 13.09.2022 - Update : 13.09.2022
Russia-led military bloc CSTO to meet Tuesday at Armenia's request

MOSCOW

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-led military bloc, will meet Tuesday evening at Armenia's request, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.

The meeting's participants will discuss the escalation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Ushakov said at a press conference in Moscow.

"We call on both Azerbaijan and Armenia to exercise restraint, strictly observe the cease-fire regime and, in general, observe the well-known trilateral statement of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia from November 2020, as well as January and November 2021," he said.

Moscow is "extremely concerned" over the aggravation of the situation and is in close contact with both sides on diplomatic and military lines, he stressed.

"Taking into account what happened last night, the conversation in Samarkand between (Russian President) Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) and (Azerbaijani President Ilham) Aliyev will be of an important nature," he said.

Both presidents will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to be held on Sept. 15-16 in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.

According to the agreement between the CSTO countries, they have to provide military assistance to any member of the organization in case of aggression.

2022 SCO summit is ‘special’

Ushakov noted that the 2022 SCO summit is "without exaggeration of a special nature" since it is taking place at a time of large-scale geopolitical changes.

"There is a rapid irreversible transformation of the entire complex of international ties, relations, politics, economy," he said, adding that “a new model is asserting its place, based on genuine multipolarity and dialogue.”

Moscow believes that the SCO offers "a real alternative to Western-centric structures and mechanisms," because all of its members are committed to the formation of a more representative, democratic, just, and a multipolar world order based on universally recognized principles of international law, Ushakov said.

He added that "all SCO members stand for equal cooperation of the countries of the world community with the central coordinating role of the UN in the spirit of mutual respect, justice, equality and mutual consideration of interests."

"The organization itself is non-bloc in nature; its activities are not directed against any states. The SCO includes countries with different cultural and civilizational traditions, different foreign policy orientations, and models of national development, but the work within this organization is based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit, respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, which in a short period of time by historical standards, turned the SCO into an effective and influential mechanism of multilateral cooperation," he said.

For the first time in three years, the summit is being held entirely in person, with the participation of 15 leaders from all eight SCO member states – India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – as well as three observer states, including Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia, and three dialogue-partner countries – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Türkiye – and Turkmenistan.

Türkiye has shown interest in the SCO as well, "realizing that it is a really important regional platform where many key decisions on the regional and international agenda are being worked out," he added.

This year, the organization will consider a record number of applications for membership, he added.

This year, the process of granting Belarus SCO membership will begin; memoranda of partnership on dialogue will be signed with Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia; and the procedure for granting the status of a dialogue partner will be launched for Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Myanmar and Maldives.

Besides, there will be a number of meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit, including the one between China-Mongolia-Russia.

According to Ushakov, Russian President Putin plans to suggest some improvements to the organization’s work at the summit.

He will also meet with the presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan, as well as the prime ministers of Pakistan and India, and Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping.


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