Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in an extraordinary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council on Friday, prior to a trilateral summit with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, via videoconference.
"Yes. That's right. [He] will take part via videoconference," Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, responding to a question from TASS.
Peskov also clarified that Friday's meeting will be held prior to a trilateral summit with Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. "This is also as part of the preparations for that summit to come," he said.
An extraordinary meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council was initiated by Armenia to discuss the consequences of military action with Azerbaijan on September 13-14. As the country's prime minister explained, Yerevan is expecting a political assessment of Azerbaijan's actions from the member countries of the organization, as well as the adoption of a road map to restore the territorial integrity of the country.
"A decision was made at a meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council, as a result of which a group came to Armenia and organized monitoring of the situation on the ground. We expect the CSTO to make a clear political assessment of what is happening and adopt a roadmap to restore Armenia's territorial integrity," Pashinyan said, adding that "this is the expectation not only of the Armenian government, but also of the entire Armenian people."
According to the Armenian government, as a result of Azerbaijani attack on Armenia in May 2021 and September 2022, Baku managed to occupy over 100 square kilometers of sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. Only during the fighting in September this year over 200 soldiers and three civilians were killed, 29 people are missing from the Armenian side
According to the CSTO, the upcoming session will discuss the results of the CSTO mission, sent to Armenia on September 15, 2022, in connection with the aggravation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Joint measures to help Armenia are also expected to be considered. Yerevan, in particular, expects the CSTO to provide a road map for restoration of territorial integrity.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS