Armenian political analysts exclude sending CSTO troops to Ukraine

The CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) Treaty does not assume any dispatch of Armenian soldiers to help Russia in the event of its conflict with Ukraine; moreover, Armenia's attention is now focused on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Armenian political analysts have pointed out.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 2, protests erupted in Kazakhstan. The Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, as the chairman of the CSTO Council, satisfied Kazakhstan's request for help. The participation of Armenian militaries in the mission in Ukraine will worsen Armenia's relations with Western countries, analysts assert.

The geopolitical intrigue around Ukraine may have an unpredictable continuation. But today it is difficult to single out real threats from the flow of bluff and psychological pressure, Naira Airumyan, an observer, has noted. She ruled out any CSTO's support to Russia in its conflict with Ukraine.

The probability of a Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict is high, but the hot phase thereof will be short – 8-10 days, Armen Vardanyan, a political analyst, believes. In his opinion, the aggravation in Ukraine will not affect the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone.

He also believes that the CSTO troops will not participate in the conflict on the side of Russia. For Pashinyan, supporting Russia would be a political suicide, Mr Vardanyan believes.

Alexander Iskandaryan, a political analyst, treats the events in Ukraine "a process of Russian-West interrelations"; they are in tough bargaining around Ukraine." At the same time, in his opinion, Russia may demand from Armenia to stop its contacts with the West.