Armenian lawmaker says ‘never say never’ on possible CSTO exit

A senior Armenian lawmaker on Monday did not rule out the possibility of Armenia withdrawing from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the future.

MP Andranik Kocharyan, from the Civil Contract faction and chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security Affairs, told reporters that the decision would depend on Armenia’s interests.

“Never say never. The world is very turbulent. The security and interests of our country shall dictate the sequence of our steps,” Kocharyan said when asked whether Armenia could quit the CSTO, where its membership is currently frozen.

Kocharyan emphasized that Armenia’s main issue with the CSTO pertains to its own borders and has nothing to do with Nagorno-Karabakh.

“An attempt was made to link the CSTO’s actions to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, but regarding Armenia’s borders, the CSTO had a role to play. They didn’t act, right? Our problem arose from the situation at Armenia’s borders, and we asked the CSTO for support two or three times. That support, aside from verbal statements, did not produce any results for us,” Kocharyan said.

He added that future decisions will depend exclusively on Armenia’s national interests.

“We will act in accordance with whatever our country’s interests dictate,” he stated.

Back in February 2024, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia had frozen its participation in the CSTO, citing the organization’s failure to fulfill its obligations to Armenia.