Pro-Government, Opposition Lawmakers Offer Contrasting Views On Armenia’s CSTO

While a pro-government parliamentarian said on Thursday that the decision by the CSTO will make little difference to Armenia, his opposition colleague questioned the wisdom of Yerevan’s policy of distancing itself from the organization.

The decision was taken on Wednesday at a meeting of the CSTO’s Collective Security Council in Moscow. The CSTO said it resulted from Armenia’s failure to pay membership dues for two years, which, under the organization’s charter, provides grounds for suspending a member state’s voting rights.

Sargis Khandanian, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, said the decision would have little practical impact on Armenia.

“Not much changes in our lives as a result of this decision,” Khandanian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Thursday.

He said Yerevan would continue to refrain from taking any steps to resume active participation in the military alliance, adding that the Armenian government would also accept the possibility of the CSTO eventually expelling the country.

“Our position remains unchanged: we will not take any steps to make our membership in the CSTO more active,” he said.

Khandanian stressed, however, that the government had no decision at this stage to initiate Armenia’s formal withdrawal from the organization, arguing that doing so at this point would not change much either.

Artur Khachatrian, a parliamentarian representing the opposition Hayastan alliance, criticized the government’s policy of keeping Armenia outside military blocs, questioning what alternative security arrangements Yerevan was relying on.

“In this uncertain and turbulent world, countries form defense blocs because they understand that they cannot face challenges alone. Armenia, surprisingly, is pursuing a non-bloc policy. What, then, is it counting on?” he said, referring to what he described as security risks posed by at least two countries, apparently implying Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Khachatrian argued that Armenia needed to find allies and establish alternative security arrangements rather than risk becoming isolated.

He acknowledged that Armenia had serious grievances against the CSTO, particularly over its failure to respond adequately to Azerbaijani military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh and against Armenia in 2022. But he said the alliance’s past role in deterring potential Turkish military intervention should also be taken into account.

Asked whether Armenia should leave the CSTO or remain a member, Khachatrian avoided giving a direct answer.

“Armenia must be able to find allies. Losing an old ally does not mean that new allies will immediately come and stand by your side,” he said, adding that no country was currently prepared to make efforts to ensure Armenia’s security.

The opposition lawmaker also suggested that Yerevan’s non-bloc policy might be serving Azerbaijan’s interests, pointing to a provision in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement initialed in 2025 concerning the presence of representatives of third parties in the two countries. He did not elaborate on how the provision was linked to Armenia’s security policy.

Armenia has been boycotting CSTO activities since 2022, accusing the alliance of failing to assist it in the face of Azerbaijani military aggression against its sovereign territory. In February 2024, Pashinian announced that the country was freezing its membership in the organization.

The Armenian government has since repeatedly indicated that it has little interest in restoring ties with the alliance. Pashinian said last week that Armenia’s interest in the CSTO had been exhausted. Earlier, he said he would be satisfied if the organization decided to expel the country.

Russia, however, has maintained that Armenia remains a full-fledged CSTO member and has urged Yerevan to take responsibility for its own decisions by formally withdrawing if it no longer considers the alliance useful.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier this week that the CSTO was not closing its doors to Armenia and that the country would retain its right to collective defense even if its voting rights were suspended.

Commenting on statements from Yerevan that the CSTO does not meet Armenia’s security needs, Lavrov said: “If that’s the case, then they should leave. But if they want us to kick Armenia out, we won’t do that.”