Latest news with #CollectiveSecurityTreatyOrganisation
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
NSA Doval down with seasonal flu, calls off his visit to Moscow
NSA Ajit Doval will not be travelling to Moscow this week to attend the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues that will be held on May 27-29. Doval is unable to participate due to indisposition with a seasonal flu, sources said. "He's looking to take forward bilateral engagement with Russia on security matters at an early date," said a source. Russia has invited more than 150 countries for the event that will be chaired by secretary of the security council of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu. Pakistani NSA is also expected. Invitations have been sent to countries of the Global South and East, the CIS, Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Eurasian Economic Union, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries, as well as to the leadership of 20 international organisations, Russian Security Council had said.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia blames Ukraine war, Europe for delaying arms supply to ally Armenia
Russia's top diplomat has blamed the war in Ukraine for affecting the supply of arms to Armenia, and has expressed concern that Moscow's longstanding ally would now look to the West for military support instead. Speaking in Yerevan on the second day of a two-day visit to Armenia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that some of Russia's weapons contracts with the former Soviet republic had been delayed or reassigned due to the pressures created by the war in Ukraine. Armenia has long relied on Russian weapons in its bitter dispute with neighbouring Azerbaijan, against whom it has fought a series of conflicts since the late 1980s. 'We are currently in a situation where, as has happened throughout history, we are forced to fight all of Europe,' Lavrov said, in a barbed reference to European support for Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion. 'Our Armenian friends understand that in such conditions, we cannot fulfil all our obligations on time.' As Russia has failed to deliver on weapons contracts paid for by Armenia, Yerevan has increasingly turned to countries like France and India for military supplies. Lavrov said that Russia would not oppose these growing ties, but said that they raised concerns about its traditional ally's strategic intentions. 'When an ally turns to a country like France, which leads the hostile camp and whose president and ministers speak openly with hatred toward Russia, it does raise questions,' he said. Armenia has strengthened its ties with the West amid recent ongoing tensions with Azerbaijan, fallout from the last major eruption of conflict and Russia's role in that. In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military operation to retake Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist enclave in Azerbaijan with a mostly ethnic Armenian population that had broken away from Baku with Armenian support amid the collapse of the Soviet Union. Armenia accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to protect the more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians who fled the region, fuelled by decades of distrust, wars, mutual hatred and violence, after Azerbaijan's lightning takeover. Yerevan also suspended its involvement in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Russian-led security umbrella of ex-Soviet countries, last year, saying it would not participate or fund the alliance.
Business Recorder
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Russia blames arms delays to Armenia on Ukraine war
YEREVAN: Russia has been struggling to supply its traditional ally Armenia with weapons due to the ongoing strain of the Ukraine war, Moscow's foreign minister said Wednesday. Armenia, a landlocked ex-Soviet country in the Caucasus, has long relied on Moscow to provide weapons and security in its standoff with neighbouring Azerbaijan. But Yerevan has in recent years turned to France and India for arms purchases, as Moscow fails to deliver weapons the country has already paid for. Russia has thrown huge budgetary and military resources at its three-year invasion of Ukraine, often at the expense of other foreign policy commitments, analysts say. At a press conference in Yerevan alongside Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, Lavrov acknowledged some weapons contracts had been delayed or reassigned, citing what he described as an existential confrontation with the West. Vladimir Putin visits Kursk region for first time since ejecting Ukrainian forces 'We are currently in a situation where, as has happened throughout history, we are forced to fight all of Europe,' Lavrov said, accusing European nations of backing Ukraine 'under Nazi slogans'. 'Our Armenian friends understand that in such conditions we cannot fulfil all our obligations on time,' he said. Commenting on Armenia's growing military ties with other suppliers, including France, Lavrov said Russia would not oppose Yerevan procuring arms from third countries but said the move raised concerns about Armenia's strategic direction. 'When an ally turns to a country like France, which leads the hostile camp and whose president and ministers speak openly with hatred toward Russia, it does raise questions,' he said. His comments come amid growing strains between Moscow and Yerevan, as Armenia deepens its ties with the West while remaining formally allied with Russia. Armenia has effectively frozen its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Russian-led security umbrella of ex-Soviet countries. Armenia also accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to protect over 100,000 ethnic Armenians who fled Karabakh after Azerbaijan's lightning military operation and takeover of the region in 2023.
Telegraph
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trump and Hegseth are half right. We cannot have Minsk 3.0
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth was half right when he announced today in Brussels that negotiations over the future of Ukraine 'must not be a Minsk 3.0.' He is right that the fiasco of Minsk cannot be repeated, but wrong to write off Nato membership and the US security guarantee in Europe. According to Hegseth, Ukraine's security will have to be guaranteed by 'European and non-European troops' - but not the US military, and not under the umbrella of Nato or Article 5. Hegseth said that the primary burden of supporting Ukraine and of European security more broadly must fall on Europe itself, as America is 'prioritising deterring war with China in the Pacific.' He praised Nato members such as Poland which are meeting the alliance's five per cent defence spending target. Hegseth's statement comes as President Trump announced the results of a 'highly productive' 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the two agreed to begin negotiations over Ukraine 'immediately.' The original Minsk agreements were failures precisely because they provided no real backing for Ukraine, only a phony ceasefire and endless talks while Russia continued to bolster rebels in the Donbass. The Trump administration is right that the new negotiations must not become a third Minsk, but it is wrong to take Ukrainian Nato membership off the table. No matter what Putin's propaganda may say, it is clear that he fears the Western alliance. In its imperial quest to rebuild the Soviet 'sphere of influence' Russia has attacked Moldova, Georgia, and now Ukraine, all countries lacking the protection of Nato membership. Clearly, Nato membership is a powerful deterrent; it is also one which Russia has no grounds to object to. After all, the United States makes no demands as to the membership of Russia's Collective Security Treaty Organisation. The Trump administration risks disarming itself of a key source of leverage before negotiations even begin. In order to bargain effectively with Putin, the US must understand how he thinks. The President must avoid attributing to the Kremlin such behavior as he would attribute to Washington and instead seek to understand his opponent's mind games. Putin understands that Trump wants to be perceived as a 'deal broker' who can, unlike his predecessor, create 'peace through strength.' He is not, therefore, opposed to giving Trump the 'gift' of freezing the conflict as a means of gaining his trust. However, he also believes he can get more by continuing to fight, and so any ceasefire that does not agree to all his terms will be considered temporary. The Trump administration must understand that Putin will turn negotiations into 'Minsk 3.0' if given any opportunity, and that the only language he understands is power. Washington should maintain the powerful sanctions regime which has punished the Russian economy thus far. The Trump administration should continue to ensure a well armed Ukraine capable of fending off Russia on the ground, making it too costly for Moscow to achieve its objectives. If the Trump administration mishandles Ukraine, it risks undermining the 'pivot to Asia' which Hegseth cites as the main driver of his policy approach. China will be watching and learning from the strength of US commitments in Europe. And while Trump is right that Europe can and should take on more responsibilities for its own security, this cannot mean leaving the continent unsupported. Otherwise, America will inevitably be brought back into Europe's instability, which will be even more costly.
