Shoigu: Armenia no longer bothers itself with new pretexts for refusing the CSTO

Armenia in recent times does not even bother itself with finding a pretext for refusing to participate in events under the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

This was stated by Secretary of the Security Council (SC) of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu to journalists following the meeting of the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO.

"I would not call this a demarche, they simply do not participate, but each time under a far-fetched pretext," he said, answering a TASS question about Armenia's refusal to participate in this meeting. "Recently, they do not even bother to change the pretexts why they do not participate, it is always the same one - this is the lack of reaction from the CSTO forces when there were events around Karabakh related to conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But the CSTO is a defensive organization, and we, naturally, according to all our statutory documents, react when we are asked for protection, when a country is attacked. On the one hand, no one attacked Armenia and its territory, this is the first thing, but what is no less important, there was no request from Armenia to provide assistance in this conflict."