TODAY.AZ / Politics

Azerbaijan can use its right to become CSTO partner at its own discretion - expert

12 November 2018 [15:10] - TODAY.AZ

By  Trend


The initiative to elect a representative of Belarus as the new General Secretary of the Collective Security Treaty Organization is quite reasonable, the Russian independent expert Ilya Tropinin told Trend, commenting on the initiative put forward by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Astana.

The post of General Secretary has been held by Armenia since May of last year on the principle of rotation. It was held by Yuri Khachaturov, recently withdrawn by Yerevan as a result of a scandal that flared up after his arrest in the framework of the criminal case related to the events of March 1, 2008.

The expert said the Armenian government has no right to dispose of the post of the General Secretary as its property, to arrest, withdraw and appoint its representatives at its own discretion.

"It is clear that it is in the interests of the Armenian side to retain the post of General Secretary in this strong organization, because otherwise it will be a severe blow to image of the current government of Armenia. I think that’s why the Armenian prime minister hurried to propose a new candidate in the person of Deputy Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan. Nonetheless, Yerevan should take into account the fact that this issue is not an internal affair of Armenia and the final decision will be made by all members of the CSTO at the organization’s summit in St. Petersburg," the expert said.

In Astana, Kazakhstan’s leader Nursultan Nazarbayev made another important statement, urging the interested countries to become partners and observers in the CSTO.

Tropinin said the regulatory legitimization of the status of the CSTO partner and the observer at the organization testifies to the openness of the CSTO, its readiness to develop constructive relations with other states and international organizations on a reciprocal basis.

"In my opinion, this is a reasonable decision that fully complies with the charter of the organization," he said.

The expert also did not rule out the fears of the Armenian side about the fact that Azerbaijan, with which all other CSTO countries actively interact, could be elected as an observer.

Tropinin noted that Azerbaijan can take advantage of this opportunity if it considers it necessary to make such a decision.

"In any case, it will be solely the choice of the Azerbaijani state," the expert said.

The Russian leader’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Nov. 8, the summit of the CSTO, and most likely the EurAsEC, and the informal summit of the CIS will be held in St. Petersburg on December 6.

The CSTO is a military-political alliance within the CIS, established on the basis of the Collective Security Treaty, signed in May 1992. The CSTO includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. The contract is renewed every five years.

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