Pashinyan: After freezing CSTO membership, practically all arms markets opened up for Armenia
Following the 2022 Prague agreement on the mutual recognition by Armenia and Azerbaijan of each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty on the basis of the Almaty Declaration, and Yerevan's freezing of its CSTO membership, practically all arms markets opened up for Armenia.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at the international conference "Comprehensive Security and Resilience – 2026."
He asserted that, as of August 2022, not a single country was selling weapons to Armenia. Pashinyan explained that, moreover, Armenia was not even being handed over the weapons for which it had already paid.
According to the head of government, other markets were closed because potential suppliers cited the fact that Armenia is a member of the CSTO, and therefore samples of armaments could end up in third countries. "In addition, concerns were expressed that the weapons sold could be used outside Armenia's internationally recognized territory," the prime minister added.
He noted that not a single neighboring country created problems after the military parade on May 28, since it was obvious that Armenia would not use its army outside its internationally recognized territory, with the exception of peacekeeping missions.
Pashinyan asserted that the previous mindset constantly created challenges in the sphere of security. "At the same time, we came to this not through analysis, but because life forced us to. After the events of September 2022, it became obvious that if the model of thinking were not changed, we would lose Armenia. In 2022, we stood on the verge of losing Armenia's statehood, sovereignty and independence. We must take this into account," he noted.
In his words, security is a more multilayered phenomenon than one can imagine. "The security formula before 2022 was primitive, since it consisted of one sentence: 'The CSTO will ensure our security.' This sentence had neither a continuation nor a preface. It was a system consisting of one component," Nikol Pashinyan emphasized.
Source: News.am
