NUR-SULTAN – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in an extraordinary online meeting of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on Sept. 13 convened at Armenia’s request, reported the Akorda presidential press service.
President Tokayev addresses the CSTO session. Photo credit: Akorda press service
The session, which was attended by President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Tajikistan Kokhir Rasulzoda, State Secretary of Belarus Security Council Alexander Volfovich, CSTO Deputy Secretary General Valery Semerikov, focused on the escalation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Renewed border clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan have resulted in artillery fire near the Nagorno-Karabakh region on the night of Sept. 14. The two countries blame each other for the latest outbreak of violence.
Addressing the session, President Tokayev stressed the need to resolve the conflict solely through political and diplomatic means. He urged his counterparts to take measures to stabilize the situation, refrain from using force, and start negotiations immediately.
When asked by journalists on the sidelines of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions whether Kazakhstan would send peacekeeping forces in case the situation escalates, Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi said that this would not be the case.
Participants of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) during Sept. 13 online meeting. Photo credit: Akorda press service
“This question is not on the agenda. Yesterday at the CSTO extraordinary meeting, the Prime Minister of Armenia informed the heads of CSTO member states about the situation on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The information was accepted, and, of course, we wanted to get objective information, because there is different information coming from the two sides. Therefore, the heads of states decided to have the CSTO Secretary-General travel on the site, get a full picture and then inform the heads of states,” said the minister.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to “take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions, exercise maximum restraint and resolve any outstanding issues through dialogue and within existing formats,” his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
