YEREVAN. – Serious political and diplomatic efforts are needed to normalize Armenia's relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Igor Panarin, a representative of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretariat, said this at a roundtable discussion in Yerevan, and entitled "The Role of the CSTO in Ensuring Security in the Caucasus Region."

He added that the reduction of tension in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone—owing to the constructive dialogue between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as the efforts by international mediators—causes optimism.

"The peculiarity of Armenia is that it borders with Turkey, where the situation is acute due to internal political struggle and armed clashes protracted between the Turkish military and the Kurdish Workers' Party groups," Panarin noted. "Besides, Armenia borders [also] with Iran, where the situation is also complicated."

According to him, the issue of US-controlled biolabs in the region is also a matter of concern.

The CSTO official added that Washington is actively working to strengthen its activeness in the region, and by way of Georgia.