Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan (Source: Photolure)

(YEREVAN)—Taking into consideration the challenges it faces, Armenia is building a multi-vector security system, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan said at NATO’s Rose Roth seminar in Yerevan.

Aside from traditional threats, the Minister pointed to rapidly aggravating challenges, such as trans-national terrorism and radicalism, which are “knocking on the door of the South Caucasus.”

“In a short period of time the so-called Islamic State has managed to expand the area under its control and continues to stretch in different directions, automatically challenging the South Caucasus, as two of the latter’s neighbors—Turkey and Iran—are in some ways involved in the developments around ISIS,” the Defense Minister said.

“Being a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Armenia actively cooperates with NATO and its member states, and views relations with NATO as an indispensable part of its security system,” Ohanyan said.

Ohanyan also noted that “Armenia is the only CSTO member state and the only strategic ally of Russia that has been actively involved in NATO-led peacekeeping missions.”

Speaking about NATO’s role in ensuring security in the region, Ohanyan said that “being the guarantor of security in the Euro-Atlantic area, NATO should play a distinct role in defending the South Caucasus from outer challenges and support negotiations on conflict settlement in different formats.”

“NATO’s involvement in the region should be targeted against challenges faced by all countries in the region, irrespective of the collective security systems they have chosen to join,” he added.