What was more important for Armenia: specific military-technical aid from the CSTO or a political assessment?

In an interview with Alpha News, ex-CSTO press secretary Vladimir Zainetdinov said that there was a draft on providing assistance to Armenia, and the CSTO had repeatedly proposed sending a monitoring mission to Armenia.

“There was a draft on providing assistance to Armenia. I cannot talk about it, even though I no longer work for the CSTO, because it is a draft document. There was information that the CSTO proposed sending a monitoring mission to Armenia, which was repeatedly voiced by other officials.

As far as I know, the draft is still relevant, and discussions are underway. With the consent of the Armenian side, it can be signed and, accordingly, come into force because the other five countries have agreed on it.

How would this mission be fundamentally different from the European mission? Well, first of all, where is Europe and where is Armenia? This mission would involve the member countries of the CSTO, which includes Armenia, that is, the allies, who would assess the situation. I am sure that this would play a positive role, first and foremost, in ensuring the security of Armenia.

Please note that today the CSTO General Staff voiced the position that a project with documents had been prepared, which provided for effective and efficient measures to stabilize the situation in the South Caucasus. This is still relevant today, and if the agreement is reached, the project can be signed. This is as relevant now as it was a year ago. The whole situation here depends on the position of official Yerevan,” Zainetdinov stressed.

Commenting on statements by the Armenian authorities and other officials about the need for a political assessment of what happened on the part of the CSTO, ex-CSTO press secretary Vladimir Zainetdinov noted that it is necessary to learn to set priorities and distinguish between specific, real assistance and ordinary public statements.

“Let’s set priorities. What was more important for the country? Specific real assistance, including military-technical aid, that could be provided within the framework of this document or a political public statement? In this case, the public statement turned out to be more important for the authorities than real help. Words turned out to be more important than real help. This is the message one could take from this.

Now I am not trying to assess the reorientation of military purchases from India and France, because today each country itself has the right to determine the weapons it will take and from where. I will speak the old fashioned way. What matters is that the weapons are compatible. But for example, French air defense systems are incompatible with ours. I am not an expert in this area, but I think they are [incompatible]. I believe that the radars of NATO countries are unlikely to be compatible with the radars of the CSTO states,” Zainetdinov said.