Russia wants clarification on Armenia's withdrawal from the collective security treaty

Russia said it will maintain contact with Armenia to clarify Yerevan's membership status after the country announced it would withdraw from the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said last month that Yerevan would withdraw from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) if it failed to comply with its obligations and define its area of responsibility.

"We certainly heard these statements. Obviously, there is much work to be done. We need to maintain contact with Armenia both within the CSTO and at the bilateral level. We will make efforts to resolve the issue and hold consultations related to the statement of the Armenian Prime Minister," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on March 13.

Mr Peskov refused to answer a question about how the CSTO viewed Prime Minister Pashinyan's statement. "That's a question for the CSTO. We shouldn't speak for it," he noted.

Asked whether the current situation could be the basis for convening an extraordinary summit of the organization, Mr. Peskov said: "Again, it depends on the decision of the CSTO."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at President Putin's year-end press conference in December 2023. Photo: AFP — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at President Putin's year-end press conference in December 2023. Photo: *AFP*

The CSTO is a Russia-led bloc, founded in 1992, with five remaining members: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Similar to NATO, the CSTO charter also has a collective defense clause, which considers an attack on one member to be an attack on all.

Bilateral relations between Armenia and Russia have deteriorated in recent months. Mr. Pashinyan said last month that Russia had let Armenia down after failing to prevent Azerbaijan from launching a blitzkrieg in September 2023 to seize control of Nagorno-Karabakh, displacing ethnic Armenians living there. He also announced the suspension of the collective security treaty with Russia.

Russia has countered that Prime Minister Pashinyan's failure to manage complex rivalries in the South Caucasus is behind the downfall of pro-Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh, and warned that the West is trying to drive a wedge between Yerevan and Moscow.

President Vladimir Putin warned that Armenia's exit from the CSTO would be a damaging development for the country itself.

Armenia, during Pashinyan's tenure as Prime Minister, which began in 2018, has sought to wean itself off security dependence on Russia and expand ties with the West. These moves have displeased Moscow, which has repeatedly criticized Pashinyan's administration for its anti-Russian stance. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on March 8 that the country is considering applying to join the European Union.

Huyen Le (According to TASS , Reuters )

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