Pashinian said the CSTO must first and foremost clarify its “zone of responsibility” in Armenia and pledge to defend it against foreign aggression.
“If the CSTO answers these questions and its answer corresponds to our expectations, it will mean that the problems between Armenia and the CSTO have been solved,” he told a news conference. “If not, Armenia will leave the CSTO. When? I can’t tell.”
Over the past year Yerevan has boycotted high-level meetings, military exercises and other activities of the CSTO in what Pashinian described last month as an effective suspension of Armenia’s membership in the alliance of six ex-Soviet states. On February 28, the premier also did not rule out Yerevan’s formal exit from the CSTO, saying that it is becoming a security threat to his country.
In an interview with the Russian TASS news agency published earlier on Tuesday, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov said Armenia has not yet notified the organization about the suspension of its membership and therefore “remains our ally.” At the same time, he expressed concern at “certain events and sentiments among a part of the Armenian elites.”
“But we hope for the political sobriety of the political leadership of Armenia and a balanced assessment of prospects for the implementation of various scenarios in relation to the organization,” added Tasmagambetov.
The Armenian government had asked Russia and other CSTO allies for support after Azerbaijan’s offensive military operations launched along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in September 2022. It has since repeatedly accused them of ignoring the request.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted early this month that the CSTO did not ignore Yerevan’s appeals. Lavrov argued that in November 2022 Pashinian vetoed at the last minute the CSTO member states’ decision to send a “peacekeeping mission of observers” to the border. Yerevan also declined CSTO offers to provide it with “military-technical assistance.”
Leading Armenian opposition groups say an exit from the CSTO and a breakup of Armenia’s broader military alliance with Russia would create a dangerous security vacuum which cannot be filled by Western powers and would only encourage Azerbaijan to launch new attacks.