Arkady Dubnov

journalist, political scientist, expert in Central Asia

The CSTO summit in Yerevan ended ingloriously: the host country refused to sign the final declaration, referring to the fact that the allies "did not give a clear political assessment of Azerbaijan's aggression." An organization that was conceived as a collective security agreement, according to some of its participants, does not cope with its main tasks. But it seems that Putin does not care much, for him this summit had a completely different political meaning.

Putin had several reasons to personally participate in the CSTO summit, convened on the initiative of the Prime Minister of Armenia Pashinyan. The first - he goes to where he is mental and physically not dangerous to him. He did not go to Bali, because there would be a strong obstruction there, but he went to the CSTO, where, perhaps, not everyone is pleasant in communication, but there should not be such obstruction as G20. The second reason is the political aspect, because it was necessary to save the CSTO from the collapse and erosion. In the online mode, without looking into the eyes and hold partners by the button on a frock coat, this is difficult.

After the September military promotion of Azerbaijan on September 13-14, Armenia began a massive campaign around the world so that the world condemns this. Since Armenia chaired this year in the CSTO, she turned to the organization for support, but the only reaction to this was the creation of a monitoring mission that issued some recommendations. With this step, the CSTO essentially limited himself in her response to the request of Armenia for help. Therefore, taking advantage of the right of chairmanship, Armenia convened a summit, the topic of which was almost exclusively the Armenian-Azerbaijani problem.

The only reaction to the military action of Azerbaijan was the creation of a monitoring mission

The reaction of the world to the Armenia campaign was different. The main sympathizers of Armenia are France and the United States, where the most significant Armenian diasporas are concentrated, which are most activated on the eve of the election. Politicians want to enlist the support of the Armenian diaspora, because it is quite influential. Recently, even the Senate of France adopted a resolution in support of Nagorno -Karabakh. Yes, Azerbaijan also has supporters and lobbyists, but the general mood and attitude to this conflict depend on which side of social moods.

It is known that Azerbaijan in very friendly relations with Ukraine, and many consider this conflict as a projection of Russian operation in Ukraine. If you support Ukraine, then you sympathize with Azerbaijan, and if you look at Armenia as an ally of Russia, then your sympathies depend on whether you support Russia. For the most part, people perceive this situation as secondary and focus on the main trigger of world stresses.

Many consider the Karabakh conflict as a projection of the Russian operation in Ukraine

As for the CSTO summit, Pashinyan himself described it best, calling what was happening Fiasco. A sharp wording is due to the fact that the CSTO was not able to politically qualify the actions of Azerbaijan as aggression, as an attempt to annex part of the territory. In the documents of the summit, even in the rhetoric of Putin, which largely defines legal documents, there is nothing of the kind, so the Armenians consider themselves humiliated and offended. Armenia is a full member of the CSTO and expected a more loyal and sympathetic attitude.

On the other hand, Armenia can now afford to throw at the CSTO, making it responsible for failures, but this is not the main thing. The CSTO does not reach a consensus on the political qualifications of Azerbaijan’s actions in relation to Armenia because if you call it aggression or annexation attempt, the contractual and statutory provisions of the organization will come into effect, which will have to intervene and protect Armenia.