YEREVAN, September 16./TASS/. A task force of the CSTO Joint Staff arrived in Armenia on Thursday and met with Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, the Defense Ministry’s press service reported.

"A task force of the CSTO Joint Staff led by the chief of the Joint Staff, Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov, arrived in Armenia late on September 15 in accordance with the decision of the CSTO Council for a monitoring mission. On the same day, Sidorov was received by Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan. The head of the military agency described the situation resulting from the large-scale aggression by Azerbaijan," the report said.

On Tuesday night, the Armenian Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijani forces had opened heavy fire against the settlements of Goris, Sotk and Jermuk, using artillery, large caliber guns and small arms. The Armenian Security Council convened an emergency meeting where a decision was made to ask Russia to use the relevant provisions of the Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance and also to appeal to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the UN Security Council. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the parliament that the Azerbaijani attacks had left 49 people dead.