Yerevan sees no way back into the CSTO

Armenia will take note of a possible decision to strip it of its voting rights in the CSTO.

This was stated to journalists by the head of the Armenian parliament's committee on foreign relations, Sargis Khandanyan.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said that the question of a possible restriction of Armenia's powers in the CSTO could be considered at the organization's summit on November 11 in Moscow.

According to Khandanyan, nothing has changed in Armenia's position: Yerevan has frozen its participation and sees no way back.

"We will follow the development of the situation, we will take note of the decision of our CSTO partners. I do not think there are any reasons or circumstances that would make us step up our participation in the Organization," Khandanyan said.

Asked about the possibility of Armenia's expulsion from the organization, Khandanyan replied that Yerevan would then have to assess this and take it into account in its future relations with CSTO members.

In June, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that because of Armenia's arrears in membership dues to the CSTO, the organization would consider applying the article of the charter that regulates measures with respect to states that fail to fulfill their obligations.

Armenia announced the "freezing" of its participation in the CSTO in February 2024. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan explained this by saying that, in Yerevan's view, the allies had failed to fulfill their obligations under the Collective Security Treaty with respect to Armenia in 2021–2022.

The CSTO includes Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Source: Sputnik Armenia