Criticism of the CSTO in the context of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is of little use, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a September 29 briefing.
"Groundless criticism of the CSTO voiced by certain political figures is not productive and does not contribute to finding a balanced and mutually acceptable solutions," Zakharova said.
Commenting on Armenia's decision not to send its military contingent to the joint CSTO exercises held in Kazakhstan, the Foreign Ministry official noted: "In this matter, Armenia acts based on the priority of tasks that it and its Armed Forces face, taking into account the current situation."
She also commented on the proposal to deploy international observers along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, voiced by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Zakharova underlined the importance of "rigorous implementation" of the agreements reached on November 9, 2020. “I think that many people, politicians, public figures – both inside the states that have signed the agreement, and especially in Armenia and Azerbaijan, and outside – want to replace with themselves or with their ideas what they have agreed on,” added the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Federation.
It is worth mentioning that on September 29 Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas who was in Yerevan as part of the Mission of the Collective Security Treaty Organization sent to Armenia following the Azerbaijani aggression on the eastern borders of the country.