We suggest taking steps to strengthen the CSTO authority, develop joint work experience with the UN, OSCE and other organizations – Pashinyan

Speaking today at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Armenia is proposing its partners to focus on the joint consistent work aimed at dynamically developing the organization and raising the efficiency of its mechanisms.

He emphasized the need for continuing the work on foreign policy coordination and deepening of mutual support.

“For this purpose we give a major importance to the regular holding of multi-level consultations, including in the format of a high-level group, which the deputy foreign and defense ministers are member of. We believe that the practice of adopting joint statements has justified itself, and it should expand”, the PM said. “The necessity for monitoring, forecast and prevention mechanisms of crisis situations is obvious. This will be formed in practice, including through ensuring the full operation of the Crisis Response Center”, he said.

Pashinyan said Armenia plans to closely cooperate with CSTO member states to raise the combat preparedness, harmony and mobility of the CSTO forces.

“There is no doubt that it is necessary to upgrade and develop the potential of the CSTO collective forces, supplement them with modern and new, including drone formations, arm them with latest means and improve their management,” he added.

Armenia is also proposing to strengthen the CSTO reputation in the international arena, also through the expansion of the cooperation with other interested international organizations, the PM said.

“In this sense it’s important to maximally use and develop the existing joint working experience with the UN, OSCE and other organizations. We believe that while solving such issues we could have relied on the support of our parliamentarians”, Nikol Pashinyan said.