Armenia Signals Likely Departure from CSTO

(MENAFN) Armenia is expected to withdraw from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced.

The country had halted its involvement in the alliance a year earlier, asserting that the bloc did not sufficiently assist during Armenia’s clashes with Azerbaijan—an episode that culminated in the forced return of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The CSTO, established in 1992, was founded by several former Soviet states including Russia and Armenia. Its current members also include Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Russia has maintained that the CSTO could not treat Baku’s military campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh as an act of aggression against a member of the alliance, as Armenia had never officially declared the disputed region as part of its sovereign land.

Additionally, Moscow highlighted that Armenian officials had persistently declined compromise solutions concerning territory that were put forward by Russian mediators.

In a media briefing on Wednesday, Pashinyan remarked, “regarding the issue of leaving or not leaving the CSTO, I will say that it is most likely that Armenia will leave the CSTO rather than unfreeze its participation.”

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