Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has confirmed that his country has effectively suspended relations with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a six-nation alliance led by Russia.
“Suspension of ties means Armenia does not have a permanent representative to the CSTO and does not take part in high-level [CSTO] events,” he told parliamentarians in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, on Feb. 28.
A former Soviet republic, Armenia became a CSTO member in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Along with Russia, the bloc’s other members include Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Mr. Pashinyan accuses the CSTO of failing to come to Armenia’s aid in September 2023 when Azerbaijan staged a 24-hour offensive in the flashpoint Nagorno-Karabakh region.
At the time, the mountainous region was inhabited mainly by ethnic Armenians, most of whom have since left for neighboring Armenia.
Nagorno-Karabakh, however, is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
While Azerbaijan isn’t a CSTO member, the country enjoys close relations with Moscow, which has sought to mediate a permanent peace between the perennial foes.
Addressing parliamentarians, Mr. Pashinyan said the CSTO had an obligation to “demonstrate its relevance in terms of Armenia’s security.”
He confirmed that Armenia had “de facto” suspended its relations with the Moscow-led security bloc.
“And if these issues [about Armenia’s security] aren’t resolved,” Mr. Pashinyan said, “we will do so [suspend relations] officially.”
In 1994, Armenian separatist groups—backed by Armenia’s military—wrested control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas from Azerbaijan.
In 2020, Azerbaijan retook the region in a six-week war that left thousands dead on both sides.
Conflict erupted again in September 2023 when Azerbaijan carried out a 24-hour offensive to disarm Karabakh-based separatist groups and bring the region under its full control.
Since then, Armenia has sought to blame Russia—and, by extension, the CSTO—for failing to stop Azerbaijan’s offensive.
In recent remarks to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Pashinyan said the offensive had “brought us to a decision that we need to diversify our relationships in the security sphere.”
His comments were widely perceived as a sign of Armenia’s intention to leave the CSTO.
Moscow, meanwhile, has responded to Mr. Pashinyan’s criticisms by noting that Azerbaijan’s claim to Nagorno-Karabakh has been internationally recognized—even by officials in Armenia.
Russian officials further point out that the CSTO’s mutual defense obligations don’t apply to Nagorno-Karabakh, which technically lies outside Armenian territory.
Moscow has also accused Mr. Pashinyan of seeking to exploit the Nagorno-Karabakh issue to put Armenia—a nominal Russian ally—on a more pro-Western course.
“To justify its strategic turnaround, Armenia is trying to blame Russia for all its problems, including the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in November 2023.
Kremlin ‘Seeking Clarity’
In the months following Azerbaijan’s offensive, Armenia has openly sought to distance itself from the CSTO.Immediately after the offensive, Yerevan recalled its permanent representative to the security bloc and has yet to appoint a new one.
It also declined to take part in joint military drills held in CSTO-member Belarus, a key Russian ally.
Soon afterward, Armenian representatives failed to show up at a Minsk-hosted CSTO summit attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In broadcast remarks on Feb. 22, Mr. Pashinyan reiterated his grievances regarding Armenia’s membership in the bloc.
“The Collective Security Treaty has not fulfilled its objectives as far as Armenia is concerned,” he told the France 24 television channel.
“We have now frozen our participation in this treaty in practical terms.
“As for what comes next, we’ll have to see.”
Mr. Pashinyan also said that Azerbaijan isn’t serious about reaching a peace deal, going as far as to claim that Azerbaijan is planning to launch another offensive.
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry described the remarks as “an effort to distort reality and deceive the international community.”
On Feb. 26, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had “yet to develop” a full understanding of Yerevan’s position regarding its CSTO membership.
“We have frequent contacts with our Armenian partners,” he told reporters.
“We’re seeking clarity on this matter. We will maintain communications to find out what this is all about.”
On Feb. 29, Alen Simonyan, speaker of Armenia’s parliament, said the issue is still under discussion.
“There has been no decision to leave the CSTO,” he was cited as saying by Russia’s TASS news agency. “But we don’t rule it out.”
“We needed protection—both in Nagorno-Karabakh and in Armenia’s sovereign territory.
“But it became clear our ally wasn’t helping us,” Mr. Simonyan added, in an oblique reference to Moscow.
