CSTO Secretary General: Armenia`s decision on its continued participation in the CSTO depends on the country`s leadership`s position

ArmInfo. Armenia remains a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), despite suspending its participation in its activities. This was stated by Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov at a briefing, commenting on the prospects for the republic's continued membership in the organization.

According to him, Armenian representatives have not participated in meetings of the Collective Security Council, the Council of Foreign Ministers, and the Council of Defense Ministers of the CSTO since 2023. The Secretary General noted that the Armenian side has not paid membership fees to the organization's budget for almost three years and has not filled quota positions in the CSTO Secretariat and Joint Staff.

The Secretary General also reported that the organization attempted to arrange a meeting with the Armenian side in 2024 to discuss these issues, but received a response indicating its unwillingness to negotiate.

In his opinion, the decision on Armenia's continued participation in the CSTO depends on the position of the country's leadership. The Secretary-General expressed hope that the Armenian side would reconsider its approach given the changing international situation.

In August, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced his support for Armenia's exclusion from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). He emphasized that he would be "very pleased" if the organization decided to expel Armenia, as this would relieve Yerevan of the difficult choice of whether or not to leave the union, TASS reports.

As a reminder, Armenia has been boycotting CSTO events since the end of 2022. In February 2024, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia had effectively frozen its participation in the CSTO, as the organization had failed to fulfill its obligations to Armenia, which could not go without consequences. And already on September 18, 2024, at the second World Armenian Summit, Pashinyan stated that the CSTO creates threats to Armenia's security, its continued existence, sovereignty and statehood.