Expert: PM Pashinyan seeks to cease Russia's military presence in region

REGION  23 September 2022 - 15:40

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has made direct accusatory assessments against the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and Russia, initiating extremely dangerous processes.

An expert, Colonel of the Armenian Reserve Armed Forces, Hayk Nahapetyan made the remarks at a press conference on September 23, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

According to him, without naming, but de facto criticizing Russia and the CSTO, Pashinyan invited an international observation mission to monitor the border regions of Armenia and Azerbaijan, saying that this "would be an important factor in regional stability."

Nahapetyan said Pashinyan’s statement, addressed from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly, de facto means an invitation to the UN peacekeeping forces.

The expert is confident that if the involvement of international peacekeeping forces becomes a reality, the Armenian side will have to pay a certain price for this.

“This price will be the exodus of the Armenian population from Karabakh, which will entail the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers; then the withdrawal of the 102nd Russian base from Armenia will follow; and the provision of a corridor through Syunik much-desired by Azerbaijan. By his speech at the UN, Pashinyan launched a process, as a result of which the military presence of Russia will be put to an end,” he said.

Another indication of the beginning of these processes was the meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Nahapetyan did not rule out that at this meeting Pashinyan could give guarantees for the withdrawal of the Russian military base and Russian peacekeepers.

In his speech at the UN General Assembly, Pashinyan noted that there is another factor that can contribute to further escalation, underlining the “improper reaction” of regional security organizations, which, according to him, gave rise to difficult questions for the Armenian society.

Caliber.Az