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Lavrov: CSTO States Have to Defend Each Other in Case of Aggression, Armenian Case Was Different

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated earlier this week that the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) could not participate in the recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh as, according to international law, the region constitutes part of Azerbaijan.
Sputnik

Russia did not break its obligations to Armenia as a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Karabakh conflict, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday.

"They certainly know that the CSTO commitments concern only joint defence of a CSTO member against external aggression, which, of course, was not the case with Armenia," Lavrov said in an interview with the RT broadcaster.

According to the minister, some analysts directly "accuse us of betraying our commitments under the Collective Security Treaty."

Speaking further, the Russian foreign minister noted that Russia was not trying to earn any political points with the Karabakh ceasefire deal, signed by Moscow, Baku and Yerevan.

"No, this was not our goal," Lavrov told RT broadcaster.

Moscow has a "philosophical approach" to different interpretations of the trilateral deal and Russia's role in it, the foreign minister stressed.

Putin Says Return of Number of Karabakh Districts to Azerbaijan Has Long Been Discussed
On 10 November, Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities in Karabakh.

In line with the statement, Armenia and Azerbaijan stop at occupied positions, a number of Karabakh regions come under Baku's control, the sides exchange prisoners, and Russian peacekeepers are deployed along the line of contact and the Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.

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