Armenia’s positions in CSTO strong: Deputy FM refutes any concerns

Deputy foreign minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan claims that Armenia’s positions in the CSTO are strong.

Bright Armenia faction lawmaker Arman Babajanyan addressing the deputy minister said that Azerbaijan has more weight in the CSTO than Armenia.

“We cannot say that Azerbaijan has bigger weight in the CSTO than Armenia, it has a mediated role there. CSTO is a treaty, the states have concrete obligations. The fundamental principle is that the obligations in the sidelines of other formats must not contradict the ones in the CSTO. This is approach we firmly push forward and get corresponding understanding among our partners both in the CSTO and EAEU,” Kocharyan said.

The deputy minister stressed that Armenia has a resolute voice in both structures.

My Step faction lawmaker Michael Zolyan asked what levers Armenia has to use in the CSTO to prevent the entrance of non-friendly country to the CSTO.

“The simplest lever is to say “no”. It is enough. Another thing is that when you are working with your partners you are preferred to give grounding for your “no.” Naturally we have serious grounding for the undesirable countries. They may not agree with the grounding, but the “no” is enough,” the deputy minister said.