In the near future, the draft decision of the CSTO Council on joint measures to provide assistance to Armenia will be discussed.  This was announced today, on October 20, by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, during the weekly briefing.

 “Now the issue of holding an extraordinary session of the CSTO Council in the near future is being worked out.  It is assumed that the heads of the CSTO member countries will discuss the results of the CSTO mission in Armenia in a video conference.  And the draft decision of the CSTO Council on joint measures to provide aid to Armenia should be discussed,” she said.

The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the CSTO Secretariat will provide additional information about the session.

 Zakharova answered the clarifying question about what kind of help we are talking about.  “They (CSTO member states – ed.) should decide and agree on this issue.  It is a collective security agreement and decisions are made collectively.”

It should be reminded that on September 13, from 00:05, the units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces fired intensively at the Armenian positions in the direction of Goris, Sotk and Jermuk.  The enemy used artillery, mortars, anti-aircraft guns and large-caliber firearms.  As a result of the Azerbaijani aggression, the number of victims and missing persons on the Armenian side is 207.

On September 13, at the meeting of the CSTO Council convened at the request of Armenia, a decision was made to send an observation mission to Armenia under the leadership of the organization’s joint chief of staff.  The mission was supposed to assess the created situation, prepare a detailed report on the situation in the region and develop recommendations on easing the tension that has arisen in separate regions on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan.