Bordyuzha: Armenia should be expelled from the CSTO

Armenia should be expelled from the CSTO, since the republic effectively does not take part in the organization's activities, yet retains the right to influence the decisions that are made.

This opinion was expressed in a conversation with RIA Novosti by former CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha.

According to him, despite freezing its participation, Armenia formally remains a full-fledged member of the organization, where all decisions are made by consensus. Consequently, Yerevan's position still has to be taken into account, although, in Bordyuzha's assessment, it already contradicts the activities of the CSTO.

"I would expel them. They don't pay dues, they don't take part. Seriously speaking, they should simply go ahead and leave, if they are serious partners. But since they have an ambivalent position — that we won't leave and won't work, and we don't participate, and we don't want to — they need to be expelled," Bordyuzha stated.

Earlier, the current CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov said that the question of expelling Armenia could be raised at the meeting of the organization's Collective Security Council on November 11 in Moscow. In his assessment, Yerevan is violating Articles 20 and 25 of the CSTO Charter.

Recall that Armenia announced the freezing of its participation in the CSTO in 2024 and stopped paying membership dues. At the same time, the organization's charter does not provide for a mechanism to freeze membership. Formally, the republic continues to remain a member of the CSTO along with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.