ArmInfo. Armenia has suspended its participation in the CSTO at all levels. Armenian Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated this during a press conference in
Yerevan on August 31, in response to a question about why Yerevan has
not withdrawn from the CSTO.
Recall that in February 2024, Nikol
Pashinyan stated in an interview with France 24 that Armenia's
participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
had been frozen. On March 12, 2024, Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia
would withdraw from the CSTO if the organization failed to fulfill
its obligations. Currently, Armenia is not involve in any capacity
within the Organization. In May of this year, Ani Badalyan, the press
secretary of the RA MFA, stated that Yerevan would refrain from
joining the decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council of
November 23, 2023 "On the CSTO budget for 2024" and from
participating in the financing of the Organization's activities
provided for by this decision. And Moscow emphasized that Yerevan's
financial responsibilities will remain unchanged.
"At this stage, we consider this decision sufficient and do not see
the need to make another decision. But this does not mean that we
will not make another decision in the future" Pashinyan said. When
asked once again about when Armenia will withdraw from the CSTO and
what will happen to the 102nd Russian military base in the country,
Pashinyan, in particular, noted: "I cannot specify the date and time
of withdrawal from the CSTO. There are currently no issues regarding
the presence of the 102nd Russian military base (RMB) in Armenia." In
this regard, he also drew attention to the fact that, for instance,
at Yerevan Zvartnots airport, Armenian border guards now handle all
border control duties after the withdrawal of Russian border guards
(August 1 of this year – ed.). We must state that the Armenian border
guards provide a comprehensive range of services at Zvartnots
airport. As far as I understand, we expressed gratitude to the
Russian border guards for their years of service and noted that we
are fully capable of handling it ourselves. This is not a trivial
matter for the Russian Federation. And who is to say that Russia's
capabilities are boundless, given the current situation? This is not
a confrontation, but rather a cooperation," he said.
Pashinyan added that Armenia also thanked Russia for its presence
along the entire perimeter of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The
Armenian Prime Minister emphasized that he does not see relations
with Russia as confrontational. In response to concerns about
tensions increasing as the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty
approaches, Pashinyan stated that the relationship is based on
cooperation and mutual respect. Pashinyan called it unacceptable to
talk about any state in the language of insults, with sarcasm,
especially when it comes to a country like Russia. He also did not
agree that Russia could impose sanctions on Armenia if Yerevan signs
a peace agreement with Baku. According to him, he does not see a
reason for such action.
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