“We have suspended our membership in the CSTO not only because the CSTO does not fulfill its security obligations towards Armenia but also because, in our opinion, the CSTO creates threats to Armenia’s security and Armenia’s continued existence, sovereignty and statehood,” Pashinian said during a conference in Yerevan.
“We will fully restore our activities in the CSTO only if concrete answers are given to the questions raised by us,” he said. “Two years have passed since our emphasis [on answers to them was first made.] The answers have not only not been voiced but it is already obvious that they will not be voiced.”
Armenia is therefore likely to reach the “point of no return” in its relationship with the CSTO, added Pashinian. He again did not specify just when he could formally pull his country out of the military alliance currently comprising six ex-Soviet states.
Russia was quick to reject Pashinian’s characterization of the CSTO as a security threat to the South Caucasus state.
“We must categorically disagree with Mr. Pashinian,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow. “The CSTO cannot and does not pose any threat to Armenia's sovereignty. On the contrary, this organization guards the sovereignty of its member states.”
“We will patiently convey this position to the Armenian leadership,” Peskov said, adding that Armenia remains a “close partner” of Russia and that “contacts” between the two nations will continue.
Armenia began boycotting high-level meetings, military exercises and other activities of the CSTO last fall before announcing an effective “freezing” of its membership in the organization. Earlier this month, the Russian Foreign Ministry again urged Yerevan to resume its “full-fledged participation” in the CSTO.
The membership suspension was part of a broader deterioration of Russian-Armenian relations. Pashinian’s administration is seeking to reorient Armenia towards the West. Senior Russian officials have repeatedly said in recent months that Western powers cannot offer any viable alternatives to the country’s security and economic development.