Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Yerevan and the CSTO informal summit marked a new stage in the region. Russia is actively returning to the South Caucasus, said Hayk Babukhanyan, the chairman of Constitutional Rights Union Party.  

Obviously, a substantial bloc will be formed where Armenia will play major role, as the Armenian-Turkish border is the border between CSTO and NATO as well, he added.

On August 19-20, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was on a state visit to Armenia at the invitation of President Serzh Sargsyan. The sides signed five agreements, including a protocol prolonging deployment of the Russian base in Armenia and agreement on construction of a new nuclear reactor.  The Russian President laid a wreath at the Memorial to Armenian Genocide victims. Dmitry Medvedev also participated in the opening ceremony of the Hill of Honor, commemorating the Russian warriors killed in the 19th century.

On August 20, an informal CSTO summit was held in Armenia. Issues related to formation of crisis response system and situation in Kyrgyzstan were on the agenda. Moscow will host the next summit scheduled for December when Belarus will assume its presidency in the organization.