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Kyrgyzstan’s capital of Bishkek on Wednesday hosted a meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers focusing on issues related to coordination of foreign policy, counteraction to regional and international challenges and threats, as well as fight against terrorism. 

In his remarks delivered at the meeting, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan first congratulated everyone on the 74th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus. The minister said that the preservation of historical memory is one of the key tools for development of allied relations within CSTO, and attempts to rewrite history and the arbitrary interpretations of our heroic past are unacceptable for Armenia.

Speaking about the humanitarian situation in Syria, the Armenian foreign policy chief stressed it is a very sensitive topic for Armenia and the country had to respond to the deprivations and sufferings which the Syrian people, including its large Armenian community, are going through, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release. 

“We are closely following the developments in the Middle East, as well as Turkey’s involvement in the ongoing processes there,” Mnatsakanyan underlined, adding the absence of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia and the former’s biased position on the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict pose a treat to Armenia and the organization as a whole.

The Armenian FM briefed his CSTO colleagues on the latest developments in the Artsakh peace process, attaching importance to the implementation of the agreements reached on the formation of a climate conducive to peace.

In this respect, the minister expressed concern over the involvement of some CSTO member states in arms sales to Azerbaijan, which, he said, has a negative effect both on the standing of the organization and on the cooperation climate.

“We hope that our concern is addressed, and appropriate steps are being taken to rule out the illusion of using force or threat of force against a CSTO member state,” Mnatsakanyan concluded.