Deputy FM: Leaving CSTO is not on Armenia`s agenda at this phase

ArmInfo.  Leaving the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is not on Armenia's agenda at this phase. Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan told reporters journalists, in response to a question   whether Armenia had discussed leaving the CSTO.

He also promised to inform journalists if such processes were to be  initiated. Regarding Armenia's non- participation in the CSTO  statutory bodies in Bishkek on November 27, Safaryan stated that the  format and policy for Armenia's participation in the organization's  events had already been announced. "Armenia is not participating in  CSTO events at this stage. However,  it is not obstructing the  adoption of any decisions or documents. This is our policy at this  phase," the Deputy Foreign Minister noted, adding that the country is  pursuing its foreign policy in accordance with its own interests.

Recall, on November 24, in a conversation with journalists, Russian  Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov stated that Armenia would not  participate in the CSTO summit in Kyrgyzstan on November 27. 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. On September 18, 2024, during the Second Global  Armenian Summit, Pashinyan declared that the CSTO poses threats to  Armenia's security, its  sovereignty, and statehood.