Commander of the Army Corps, Major-General Ishkhan Matevosyan provided exhaustive information on the situation at the border, the periodic ceasefire violations by the rival and the preventive measures of the Armenian side.

At a briefing with reporters Nikolay Bordyuzha noted that the situation at the frontline is generally satisfactory. He said the objective of the visit was to prepare a report on the situation at the border.

Welcoming the CSTO Secretary General’s first visit to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Seyran Ohanyan noted that such visits come to prove that the CSTO leadership is interested in the situation in member states. He added that the visits help shape common views on the possible steps deriving from the situation and determine their sequence.

The participants of the meeting adopted a joint statement on the continuing crisis in Syria and the escalation of the situation in the northwest of the country.

The Foreign Ministers of CSTO member states expressed their deep concern over the occupation of Kessab by the Al-Qaeda-linked armed groups, which resulted in human losses and forced deportation of the Armenian population.

“We severely criticize the terrorist actions and the application of force against the peaceful population. We call to end violence and ensure the safe return of the refugees. We are confident that the stabilization of the situation is possible only in case of exclusion of any foreign intervention and launching of a broad political dialogue with consideration of interests of all Syrian Armenians irrespective of nationality and religion,” the statement reads.

The CSTO Foreign Ministers urged all interested parties to work in full compliance with international law and to end the bloodshed and reach a peaceful solution on the basis of the Geneva Convention of June 30, 2012.”

Nikolay Bordyuzha is expected to have meetings with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and National Security Secretary Arthur Baghdasaryan.

Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, Colonel General Yuri Khachaturov and First Deputy Defense Minister David Tonoyan were present at the meeting.

Issues related to the military component of the CSTO were discussed at the meeting.

Nikolay Bordyuzha will be accompanied by Alexander Studenikin, Chief of the CSTO United Staff.

The CSTO Secretary General will meet with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Secretary of the National Security Council Arthur Baghdasaryan and Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan.

The parties discussed the process of implementation of the agreements reached within the framework of the CSTO, issues connected with the CSTO Academy in Yerevan, as well as the implementation of decisions made at the session of the CSTO Council in Sochi on September 23.

The parties agreed to continue the cooperation to boost the effectiveness of activity within the framework of the CSTO.

He noted that work is underway to create the necessary legal framework for the new collective forces. “Their establishment will considerably strengthen the organization’s military component,” Nikolai Bordyuzha underlined.

The issue of deploying peacekeepers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the Karabakh conflict zone has never been discussed, Secretary General of the CSTO Nikolai Bordyuzha said. According to him, this requires the consent of at least two countries.

As for Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s criticism of some members of the CSTO, Bordyuzha said it was “friendly criticism.”

During the CSTO summit in Sochi the Armenian President had accused some CSTO members of signing resolutions that contradict Armenia’s position on the Karabakh issue.

Will the signing of any documents in Vilnius affect the Armenia-CSTO relations? Nikolay Bordyuzha said the answer was given in September, when Armenia announced about its intention to join the Customs Union.

Within the framework of the visit Nikolay Bordyuzha will participate in the 11th sitting of the CSTO Inter-State Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation.

Nikolay Bordyuzha and Arthur Baghdasryan will participate in the “Canal-Caucasus” local anti-drug operation and will visit the premises of the CSTOAcademy in Yerevan.

“As a CSTO-member state closest to Syria geographically, and as a nation having a huge Diaspora in Syria, Armenia feels all risks and challenges to the Caucasian region more sharply,” President Sargsyan said.

He underlined that from the very first days of the Syria crisis Armenia has been standing for the peaceful settlement of conflict on the basis of dialogue.

“In this context we unequivocally welcome the Russian-American agreements on the peaceful settlement of the Syria crisis,” Sargsyan said.

The countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) adopted a statement on the situation in Syria at a summit in Sochi, emphasizing the necessity of peaceful settlement and unacceptability of foreign aggression.

“CSTO member states are united in the opinion that the situation in Syria can be settled exceptionally through peaceful political means,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said, adding that “any outer military action would be a flagrant violation of international law.”

According to him, such scenario would lead to a further destabilization of the situation in Syria, and would inevitable have a negative impact on the situation in the zone of CSTO responsibility.

“We’re grateful to our CSTO partners for their support to Russia’s efforts towards peaceful settlement of the issue and the Russian-American proposals regarding the Syrian chemical weapons,” Vladimir Putin said.

He emphasized the necessity to use all opportunities to end the violence in Syria, launch dialogue between the authorities and the opposition. “This is the consolidated position incorporated in the statement of the CSTO countries,” the Russian president concluded.

The Ministers discussed issues related to the process of implementation of the decisions made during the session of December 2012 and approved the draft documents to be considered at the sitting of the CSTO Council later today.

Reference was made to the action plan of military cooperation by 2020, the situation in Syrian and the draft statement on Syria to be adopted by the Collective Security Council.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov presented the priorities of the Russian presidency of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

SCTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha briefed the participants on the current activity of the organization, the achievements registered within the framework of cooperation.

The participants of the sitting decided the place and time of the next sitting of the CSTO statutory bodies.