CSTO members Russia and Belarus say they will send a military contingent to the South Caucasus to “properly resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.”

Yesterday, at the request of Armenia, CSTO convened a special session, by video, to discuss the recent fighting along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

In a statement, Russia’s Permanent CSTO Representative Mikael Aghasandyan announced that according to the preliminary negotiations of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, fully respecting the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia, the Russian Federation and Belarus will not tolerate the provocations of the Azerbaijani armed forces and their sponsors from Turkey and NATO countries and will send a military contingent to properly resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The CSTO representatives of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan expressed their disagreement with this decision by Russia and Belarus, labelling it as a “unilateral and uncoordinated”.

The three representatives reiterated their position that the conflict can be resolved exclusively by political and diplomatic methods within the framework of existing agreements and with the wide participation of the international community.

No details were provided regarding the composition of this planned military contingent.