Lavrov: Armenia has not submitted official application to withdraw from CSTO,

Armenia has not submitted an official application to withdraw from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) or the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

“No such application has been received, nor has an application to withdraw from the Eurasian Economic Union been received,” he said, responding to a question about Armenia’s possible withdrawal from the CSTO at a press briefing following a joint meeting of the CSTO Councils of Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils.

Lavrov also said that a draft decision would be discussed at the CSTO summit scheduled to take place in Moscow on November 11. The draft proposes depriving Armenia of its voting rights in the organization’s bodies and suspending the right to nominate Armenian citizens for quota-based positions until Armenia fully repays its outstanding membership fees. According to him, even if the draft is adopted, Armenia will retain the fundamental rights provided for by the Collective Security Treaty, including the right to collective security.

Armenia announced in February 2024 that it was freezing its participation in the CSTO’s activities. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a press briefing days ago that Armenia’s interests related to the CSTO had been exhausted. During the same briefing, he said that Armenia did not intend to withdraw from the EAEU.

Pashinyan also cited 2027 or 2028 as a realistic timeframe for Armenia to submit an official application to join the European Union.