Armenia considers itself ‘outside of’ Russian-led CSTO military alliance, prime minister says

Armenia considers itself “outside of” the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday, according to Russian state media.

“Regarding the documents [adopted at the CSTO summit in Kazakhstan in November], we declared that we are freezing our participation in CSTO activities. This means that we do not participate in drafting documents, discussions, or proposing initiatives — we simply refrain from using our veto. In essence, we already consider ourselves outside the CSTO,” Pashinyan said during a parliamentary session.

According to the prime minister, the difference of perspectives between Armenia and Russia regarding the CSTO “makes Armenia’s return to the organization increasingly difficult, if not impossible.” He added: “I believe we have passed the point of no return on this issue.”

After the CSTO summit in November, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Armenia could resume full-scale participation in the organization as it had not left but merely “taken a pause.”

In February, Pashinyan announced that Armenia had “frozen” its participation in the CSTO, and in May, the country suspended its funding of the organization. The prime minister said at the time that two CSTO member states had been involved in helping Azerbaijan prepare for war against Armenia. While he didn’t name the countries, he later accused Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko of “participating in the preparation for the war, encouraging it, and believing in and wishing for Azerbaijan’s victory.”