Armenia’s participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is frozen, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with France 24 television on the evening of Thursday, February 22. Thus, he answered the presenter’s question whether Yerevan intends to leave the organization, which is “dominated by Russia . ” Back in November last year, he said that Armenia was not preparing to leave the CSTO .
During his response to French journalists, the Prime Minister of Armenia also said that the so-called collective security agreement regarding Yerevan was not implemented, especially in 2021-2022 – in particular, when Pashinyan was asked to sign a joint declaration of the CSTO Collective Security Council due to the lack of political assessment of the “aggression of Azerbaijan” against the sovereignty of Armenia. “This could not remain without our attention. We have suspended our participation. Let’s see what happens next,” Pashinyan said on France 24 TV channel.
Russian military base remains in northern Armenia
When asked about the possible closure of the Russian military base on the territory of Armenia, Pashinyan did not give a specific answer. The topic is “not on the agenda,” he said. According to the RBC agency, the 102nd Russian military base, which is on combat duty within the framework of the CIS Joint Air Defense System, was deployed in Gyumri in northern Armenia under the interstate agreement between Moscow and Yerevan in 1995. The contract has been extended until 2044.
In February, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Pashinyan admitted that Armenia “may rethink” its membership in the CSTO. In 2023, the country ignored its participation in two exercises and the Minsk summit in November. The Kremlin expressed “regret” about this, and according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as cited by RBC, leaving the CSTO “does not meet the interests of Armenia.”
Roman Sulima
DW
