Armenia asks Russia to help protect its territorial integrity - Security Council

YEREVAN. Nov 16 (Interfax) - Following an attack from Azerbaijan, Armenia has asked Russia to help protect its territorial integrity, Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said.

"Given the Azerbaijani attack on the sovereign territory of Armenia, we call on Russia to protect the territorial integrity of Armenia consistent with the interstate treaty of 1997 and to fulfill mutual obligations within the framework of the logic of the existent treaty," Grigoryan said on Armenian Public Television.

"This is an oral request to be followed by a written procedure," he said.

"We are initiating the process. We expect Russia to provide assistance so that we are able to restore our territorial integrity," Grigoryan said.

As to what kind of assistance Armenia is expecting, Grigoryan said that it should be provided within the logic of negotiations if the crisis can be resolved through talks, or else "Armenia should be provided with a sufficient amount of military assistance in order to resolve the situation."

Armenia is also intensifying use of the tools available in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), he said.

"Preparations are being made. We appealed to the CSTO back in May, but didn't make enough of an effort to solve the problem. We will keep working and, as the country presiding in the CSTO, will take additional measures to intensify use of CSTO tools, which allow relevant measures to be taken toward solving the problem," Grigoryan said.

The Russian-Armenian Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance says that "the High Contracting Parties shall cooperate closely with each other to defend sovereignty and territorial integrity and ensure the security of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia. They shall consult each other without delay whenever either of them considers that it is under threat of armed attack in order to ensure joint defense and maintain peace and mutual security. The necessity, nature, and extent of the assistance which one High Contracting Party shall render to the other High Contracting Party with a view to helping overcome the situation which has arisen shall be determined during these consultations."