CSTO ready to send observers to Armenian border with Azerbaijan – Lavrov

YEREVAN, October 12. /ARKA/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is ready to send its observers to Armenia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday at a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, TASS reported. He said this requires a decision of the CSTO's Collective Security Council

"CSTO convened a summit immediately after Armenia asked for it (Armenia asked for military assistance from the Russia-led military alliance to drive Azerbaijani troops from its sovereign territory- ARKA) and a decision was made to send a CSTO fact-finding mission, which prepared recommendations (about how to ease tension on Armenian-Azerbaijani border). We have had these recommendations for more than a month," Lavrov said during talks with Ararat Mirzoyan in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Lavrov also suggested considering relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in view of their leaders’ recent contacts in Europe. He also said that Russia is ready to contribute to the implementation of trilateral agreements between Baku, Yerevan and Moscow and to discuss what else needs to be done.

EU ambassadors on Tuesday agreed to send a civilian mission to Armenia to be deployed along the border with Azerbaijan to build confidence and help them delimit their border.

The decision to deploy EU's civilian mission was reached earlier by Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders. Armenia expressed its agreement to encourage the EU civilian mission along the border with Azerbaijan at an October 6 meeting in Prague with Azerbaijani leader Aliyev, France's President Macron and European Council President Michel.

Azerbaijan agreed to cooperate with the mentioned mission to the extent it will be concerned. The mission is expected to start its work in October, for a maximum period of two months. 

EU's decision was decried by Russia. The spokeswoman for the Russian ministry Maria Zakharova described the decision as "yet another attempt to cut into the settlement between Azerbaijan and Armenia in any way, to squeeze Russia's mediation efforts." -0-