Thursday, June 13 2024 14:57

ArmInfo. Armenia's decision to leave the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is a reorientation of the country towards the West. Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan has followed this course since he came to power. Konstantin  Zatulin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS  Affairs, stated this in a conversation with Gazeta.Ru.

"He (Pashinyan) is following his own course, which is completely  obvious. It may be a matter of dispute or discussion to what extent  he laid the course when he came to power in 2018, or, as we all see,  began to implement it only in 2022. And although all public signs of  the reorientation of the Armenian government date back to 2022; I  think that from the very beginning, the arrival of Nikol Pashinyan  was inspired by the ideas of reorienting Armenia to the West,  including the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, which Pashinyan defiantly  lost, while holding himself responsible for the future fate of  Karabakh. and Karabakh people against Russia

"She was just a link in the overall plan, and not an accident or a  confluence of unfavorable circumstances," Zatulin said.

The deputy noted that Russia has lost a lot by trying not to pay  attention to Pashinyan's policies and continuing to believe in the  possibility of cooperation.

"I warned many times that all our desires to appease Mr. Pashinyan,  to demonstrate that we are not paying attention, that we believe in  the best, in the opportunity, so to speak, to cooperate with  Pashinyan's government - they are perceived as our weakness or  misunderstanding. For me this is It was absolutely obvious from the  first days of Pashinyan's coming to power. In order to maintain some  kind of channel for communication with the civil society of Armenia,  it was in 2018 that we created the "Lazarev Club" (since 2018, it  unites politicians, experts and diplomats). two countries, named  after the Armenian philanthropists Lazarevs).

In order to maintain some thread, some connection with those in  Armenia who still believe in relations with Russia, we are trying to  keep the fire burning. But with the best of intentions, the official  course of Russia so far has been to demonstrate complete  non-interference in what is happening in Armenia, avoid intensifying  ties with the Armenian opposition, and not notice all this in the  hope that it will be appreciated by someone and accepted. In my  opinion, we have not gained anything along this path, but only lost,"  he concluded.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced in parliament that Armenia  would leave the CSTO during the "government hour" on June 12. He  stated that the country's former authorities "entered a 'bubble  union,' and then it turned out that it did not protect Armenia."  Today, confirming this intention, he emphasized that the country will  leave the Organization when it considers it appropriate.