Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in a lengthy interview with the Russian Tsargrad TV channel on global and regional security issues, said the Armenian government’s last-minute decision to postpone the sending of a CSTO observer mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border was a mistake.

Lavrov said CSTO was ready to assist Armenia in the face of Azerbaijani border incursions and that an agreement had been reached to send the mission.

“But if Yerevan had confirmed what had already been agreed and remained ready for signing and entry into force, I am convinced that Armenia would have won and would have received a more stable situation,” Lavrov said.

On November 23, 2022, during the CSTO collective security council summit in Yerevan, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia would not sign the CSTO declaration and the aid project to Armenia.

The reason, according to Pashinyan, was that the CSTO did not express a clear position on the Azerbaijani occupation of the sovereign territory of Armenia and did not condemn these actions. Moreover, Yerevan accused the CSTO of inaction for violating the territorial integrity of the member country and attacking the CSTO borders.

Lavrov chided the Armenian government for believing that the West will ensure the country’s security challenges if it removes Russian border guards and the Russian military base in Gyumri.

Lavrov claimed he has proof that the U.S. and its allies are actively making such proposals to Yerevan.

Photo: Yuri Kochetkov / Reuters