Nikol Pashinyan considers  "freezing" of membership in the CSTO a  sufficient step and sees no complaints about the activities of the  102nd RMB

ArmInfo. Armenia has suspended its participation in the CSTO at all levels. Armenian Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated this during a press conference in  Yerevan on August 31, in response to a question about why Yerevan has  not withdrawn from the CSTO.  

Recall that in February 2024, Nikol  Pashinyan stated in an interview with France 24 that Armenia's  participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)  had been frozen. On March 12, 2024, Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia  would withdraw from the CSTO if the organization failed to fulfill  its obligations. Currently, Armenia is not involve in any capacity  within the Organization. In May of this year, Ani Badalyan, the press  secretary of the RA MFA, stated that Yerevan would refrain from  joining the decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council of  November 23, 2023 "On the CSTO budget for 2024" and from  participating in the financing of the Organization's activities  provided for by this decision. And Moscow emphasized that Yerevan's  financial responsibilities will remain unchanged.

"At this stage, we consider this decision sufficient and do not see  the need to make another decision. But this does not mean that we  will not make another decision in the future" Pashinyan said.  When  asked once again about when Armenia will withdraw from the CSTO and  what will happen to the 102nd Russian military base in the country,  Pashinyan, in particular, noted: "I cannot specify the date and time  of withdrawal from the CSTO. There are currently no issues regarding  the presence of the 102nd Russian military base (RMB) in Armenia." In  this regard, he also drew attention to the fact that, for instance,  at Yerevan Zvartnots airport, Armenian border guards now handle all  border control duties after the withdrawal of Russian border guards  (August 1 of this year - ed.). We must state that the Armenian border  guards provide a comprehensive range of services at Zvartnots  airport. As far as I understand, we expressed gratitude to the  Russian border guards for their years of service and noted that we  are fully capable of handling it ourselves. This is not a trivial  matter for the Russian Federation. And who is to say that Russia's  capabilities are boundless, given the current situation? This is not  a confrontation, but rather a cooperation," he said.

Pashinyan added that Armenia also thanked Russia for its presence  along the entire perimeter of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.  The  Armenian Prime Minister emphasized that he does not see relations  with Russia as confrontational. In response to concerns about  tensions increasing as the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty  approaches, Pashinyan stated that the relationship is based on  cooperation and mutual respect. Pashinyan called it unacceptable to  talk about any state in the language of insults, with sarcasm,  especially when it comes to a country like Russia. He also did not  agree that Russia could impose sanctions on Armenia if Yerevan signs  a peace agreement with Baku. According to him, he does not see a  reason for such action.