ArmInfo. In response to a citizen's question as to whether Armenia lacks the political will to withdraw from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Armenia's Premier Nikol Pashinyan said:
"If there was no political will to make decisions dictated by the interests of Armenia, then we would not have made all the statements and reservations that we voice regarding the activities of the CSTO," Pashinyan said in response.
The Prime Minister assured that there is political will to make decisions for the benefit of the country, but the authorities intend to be guided by the state interests of Armenia.
If we have made a decision or have not made a decision at the moment, then our reference point, which we are guided by, is the state interests of Armenia. Our observations show that de facto the actions or inactions of the CSTO do not correspond to its obligations to the Republic of Armenia. In other words, in this sense, the actions of the CSTO do not correspond to the interests of Armenia. And we raise this issue transparently. At the beginning, we did this not publicly, but as a matter of work," Pashinyan said.
He noted that Armenia wants to do everything to the last to fully understand the CSTO and convey its position to the organization. If this cannot be achieved, then, according to Pashinyan, the public will have even more questions regarding membership in this organization, "if it does not give Armenia anything or does not give the minimum that would retain interest in continuing membership, but causes additional risks for our security system."
Pashinyan said that Armenia has tried to diversify arms supplies before. "Such discussions lasted minutes, we were told: "Sorry, you are a member of the CSTO, we cannot enter into military-technical relations with you," Pashinyan said.