On December 5, RA NA Speaker Alen Simonyan gave a speech at the joint session of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the 15th plenary session.

In particular, the Speaker of the RA National Assembly said that in recent years, political realities have been emerging in the geopolitical dimension, which will mark the transformation of the system of international relations shortly, and it is in this context that regional security organizations should show more significant activity. "Works have been carried out in the direction of deepening foreign political coordination and mutual support to develop agreed approaches to international and regional issues related to the interests of the CSTO member states," noted Alen Simonyan.

Referring to the parliamentary cooperation of the organization, he noted that it is necessary to coordinate the legislative work by adopting model acts and developing recommendations on a wide range of issues. Alen Simonyan emphasized that since the last session, the military-political situation in the South Caucasus region has worsened, and events are taking place that undermines stability and regional security. He detailed the military operations carried out by the Azerbaijani armed forces that invaded the territory of Armenia in September, reminding that in the new phase of aggression, the Azerbaijanis occupied certain parts of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. He emphasized that the belligerent rhetoric of the official Baku testifies to Azerbaijan's future expansionist ambitions.

"In this challenging situation, the military and political support of our partners in the CSTO was significant for Armenia, and the Armenian side has outlined its expectations; they are:
1. The clear political assessment of the organization regarding the September escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border,
2. Adoption of the road map for the restoration of territorial integrity of Armenia after the aggression of Azerbaijan," said the Speaker of the RA National Assembly.

He emphasized that today the armed forces of a third country are in the zone of responsibility of the CSTO, and he does not know how it can be explained or how the partners see the continuation of this situation when almost every day Azerbaijan violates ceasefire regime, as a result of which Armenians are killed. The head of the RA Parliament assured that Armenia never made a statement about withdrawing from the CSTO, but it was said that the CSTO was leaving the region, which worries our country. The settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem was touched upon in the lengthy speech.

"Today, we have a task to protect the population of Nagorno Karabakh. Azerbaijan has begun to declare that the Nagorno Karabakh problem no longer exists, and the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh does not exist. A few days ago, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan demanded that the Russian peacekeepers not use Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian place names. Moreover, we see the intention of the Azerbaijani side to close the Lachin Corridor. The Lachin Corridor is the only full-fledged road of humanitarian significance for the livelihood of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh," stressed Alen Simonyan.
Concluding his speech, the Speaker of the National Assembly noted that Armenia's efforts and implemented steps practically confirm Armenia's commitment to the peaceful settlement of all issues related to the conflict, including ensuring the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.