THREE COUNTRIES CONFIRM INTENT TO QUIT COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY.
THREE COUNTRIES CONFIRM INTENT TO QUIT COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY.
On the eve of and during the CIS summit, Uzbek President Islam Karimov, Georgian Foreign Minister Irakly Menagarishvili and Azerbaijan’s senior presidential adviser Vafa Guluzade reaffirmed that their respective countries will not prolong their participation in the CIS Collective Security Treaty. Yeltsin’s senior adviser for foreign policy, Sergei Prikhodko, confirmed after the conclave that only five countries–Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan–are prepared to prolong their participation in the treaty, which is due to expire later this month. The nine original signatory countries are scheduled to hold one last meeting on April 20, but every indication suggests that the decisions in Tbilisi, Baku, and Tashkent to quit are irreversible. Azerbaijani President Haidar Aliev, moreover, criticized the Russian side for expanding its military presence in Armenia and deploying heavy armaments there, in clear violation of the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty. Aliev declared that his main purpose in attending the summit was to voice that concern. Azerbaijan also restated its offer to send an elite platoon to the former Yugoslavia as part of the Turkish contingent under NATO command. Aliev’s and Guluzade’s position prompted Lukashenka to describe Azerbaijan as “the most pro-NATO among the CIS countries” (Itar-Tass, RIA, April 2-3).
The Monitor is a publication of the Jamestown Foundation. It is researched and written under the direction of senior analysts Jonas Bernstein, Vladimir Socor, Stephen Foye, and analysts Ilya Malyakin, Oleg Varfolomeyev and Ilias Bogatyrev. If you have any questions regarding the content of the Monitor, please contact the foundation. If you would like information on subscribing to the Monitor, or have any comments, suggestions or questions, please contact us by e-mail at pubs@jamestown.org, by fax at 301-562-8021, or by postal mail at The Jamestown Foundation, 4516 43rd Street NW, Washington DC 20016. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution of the Monitor is strictly prohibited by law. Copyright (c) 1983-2002 The Jamestown Foundation Site Maintenance by Johnny Flash Productions
