Comment by the Head of the Department of International Security Georgi Kocharyan on the CSTO Statement at the 25th Conference of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

21 April, 2021

At the 25th Conference of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held in the Hague, the CSTO member states issued a statement, which, among others, referred to the use of hazardous chemicals, which we have confronted during the 44 days’ Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression, including the use of white phosphorus-like agent.

Moreover, the statement agreed with the active involvement of the Armenian side, particularly, states that "it is bewildering that the Secretariat has ignored a recent use in a regional conflict of a dangerous chemical agent whose impact on people and environment is comparable to that of a chemical weapon".

In this context, the obligation of the Secretariat to respond to requests from States Parties to undertake urgent measures in accordance with the Convention is emphasized.

In order to hold the perpetrators accountable, particularly for the war crimes and the use of prohibited weapons by Azerbaijan during the aggression against Artsakh, Armenia, since October 2020, has repeatedly applied to the  OPCW leadership and raised the issue of sending an OPCW fact-finding mission to Artsakh for the investigation of the use of weapons containing white phosphorus-like chemicals. The Armenian side presented relevant information materials, including a report prepared by foreign experts.

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