CSTO secretary general urges not to preempt events regarding Armenia's withdrawal from the organization
One should not preempt events regarding Yerevan's withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), since there is the opinion of the country's leadership, and there is the opinion of the Armenian people.
This was stated in an interview with TASS by CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov.
Answering a question about what decision can be expected from the November session of the Collective Security Council on the issue of Armenia's membership in the CSTO, the secretary general noted that decisions "to exclude or not to exclude" from the organization are made by the heads of the CSTO member states. "We as the secretariat cannot make a decision for one side or another, so everything is still ahead. Whether this issue will be seriously discussed at the next session of the CSC in November of this year in Moscow is also a question, this is decided by the heads of state themselves. Let's not rush [events]," he pointed out.
"We have heard the statements of the prime minister [of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan]. I have always said that [there is the opinion] not only of the country's leadership, but there is also the opinion of the Armenian people on various issues. Therefore, let's not preempt events," the agency's interlocutor emphasized.
Earlier, Pashinyan stated from the parliamentary rostrum that he favors the republic's exclusion from the Collective Security Treaty Organization and would be pleased if this happens. According to him, this would free Yerevan from the dilemma of whether or not to withdraw from the organization.
In September 2024, Pashinyan stated that Yerevan had frozen its participation in the work of the CSTO because, according to his assertion, the organization had created threats to the republic's sovereignty. In October 2024, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated at an international security forum in Warsaw that Yerevan is calculating all the risks regarding a decision to withdraw from the CSTO. In December of the same year, the Armenian prime minister announced that relations between Armenia and the CSTO had passed the point of no return.
On June 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the CSTO member states had agreed to consider applying to Armenia the relevant article of the association's charter due to the republic's failure to pay dues for two years. On August 11, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin stated in an interview with TASS that the issue of depriving Armenia of its voting right in the CSTO may be considered at the organization's summit on November 11.
