Kremlin: Armenia is de facto not participating in the work of the CSTO

Kremlin statement

Armenia is effectively not participating in the work of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). This was stated by the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the situation surrounding Armenia and the organization: 'Yerevan is de facto not participating in the work of the CSTO.' According to him, certain steps are set out in the organization's charter documents, and the decision will be made precisely on their basis. This is reported by Gazeta.Ru.

Possible loss of voting rights

The day before, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin said that the CSTO Council may decide as early as next week to strip Armenia of its voting rights in the organization — until contributions for more than two years are paid. He described this as a technical matter provided for by a specific article of the charter, but added that such an outcome depends on the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Yerevan's position

On Armenia's part, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stated that the republic is no longer interested in the CSTO, since Yerevan's interest in the organization has faded. He also previously said that Armenia does not object to being expelled from the CSTO. Thus, the possible loss of voting rights due to unpaid contributions is taking place against the backdrop of Yerevan's already stated position on reducing its participation in the bloc; a final decision has not yet been made.