YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. A round table entitled "The Collective Security Treaty Organization as a Factor of Stability and Security in the Caucasian Region" was held in Yerevan on November 24. "Our complex region is not only a geographical crossroads, but also a peculiar geopolitical, transport and cultural crossroads in the global Eurasian territory. For that reason the echo of the events taking place here produces a strong response outside the region," Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia Arthur Baghdasarian said in his speech. He stressed that the processes in the Caucasian region cause many pressing problems to be solved by joint efforts of all the regional countries. In his words, it is possible to join efforts only in case of the existence of mutual trust among regional countries and an open dialog based on the interests of all the nations living here. He said: "The Republic of Armenia has always been in favor of the establishment of a lasting peace and good-neighborly relations, equitable partnership and cooperation of all the regional countries - without any preconditions, and our position on this issue remains unchanged". According to him, the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey and the border's opening will form a completely new situation in the region. During the press conference given at the conclusion of the round table, CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha stated that he expects the Yerevan round table to be followed by such events in other CSTO member states. "We would like to know the expert council's opinion about the military-political situation in all the regions under the action of CSTO, how to create a collective security system and what should be taken into account during its creation," he said.

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