Sargsyan Suggests ‘One for all and all for one’ Political Approach to CSTO

President Serzh Sargsyan speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the CSTO meeting in Moscow.

The heads of states of Russia's post-Soviet security bloc, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) met in Moscow on Monday. The six-member security treaty touched upon international and regional security issues with a focus on reaffirming the group's intention to fight terrorism.

In his statement, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan underscored the importance of implementing a closer political and military alliance among CSTO member states.  President Sargsyan pointed out that as a NATO member State, the “one for all and all for one” political principle worked greatly in favor of Turkey. In his remarks, he said that “even though Turkey shot down an [Russian] aircraft, which was carrying out a military mission of utmost importance for the international community in its fight against terrorism, not a single NATO member state questioned the actions of the Turkish side… We need to learn from that.”

Sargsyan called on CSTO member states to mobilize around common interests and mutual obligations. “If we don’t discuss the situation … [if] we vote against each other’s interests in international organizations, adopt bilateral declarations with third countries the essence of which is aimed against the CSTO allies, we simply bring our entire Organization, its reputation, and significance under fire,” Sargsyan said.

It has to be noted that Armenia was the only CSTO member to unconditionally side with Russia in condemning Turkey after it brought down the Russian jet near the Turkey-Syria border.

Serzh Sargsyan also pointed out that since the organization’s last meeting in  Dushanbe, the tension on NKR’s Contact Line with Azerbaijan (a former CSTO member) considerably escalated, instead of subsiding. “For the first time since the establishment of a cease-fire regime in 1994, on December 8, 2015 the Azerbaijani armed forces carried out tank shelling, which has raised the existing tension to a new, much more dangerous level,” the Armenian President noted.

The security alliance also decided to extend the responsibility of current CSTO General Secretary Nikolay Bordyuzha (a Russian national and a former career Soviet KGB officer) until January 1, 2017. The next secretary general is expected to be from Armenia.