Armenia Has ‘Frozen’ Participation in CSTO, Angering Moscow

CSTO leaders gather in Yerevan for an annual summit on Nov. 23, 2022

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia has “frozen” its participation in the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. The Kremlin has called on Yerevan to explain this decision.

In an interview with France 24, Pashinyan said the CSTO had not fulfilled its obligations toward Armenia, a member state.

“The CSTO hasn’t fulfilled its security obligations towards Armenia, particularly in 2021, in 2022, and this couldn’t have gone without consequences. And the consequence is that in practice we have basically frozen our participation in the CSTO,” Pashinyan told France24.

When asked about the Russian military base in Armenia, Pashinyan clarified that the base is located in Armenia not as part of the CSTO. “That’s an entirely different legal-contractual framework, and we haven’t had the occasion to address that framework,” he said.

The Kremlin was quick to react to Pashinyan’s statement, saying on Friday that Russia is planning to seek clarification from Armenia’s prime minister.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Zvezda television channel on Friday that Moscow needed more details from Armenia, Reuters reported.

“The Armenian side has not taken any official action in this regard,” he said, referring to the purported freezing of its CSTO participation.

“We intend to get in touch with our colleagues and clarify the meaning of these statements,” Reuters quoted Peskov as saying.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said Yerevan needed to clarify its position.

“We expect comprehensive clarification through bilateral channels regarding Nikol Pashinyan’s statements concerning the freezing of Armenia’s participation in the Collective Security Treaty and the organization itself,” the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.