Armenia has not officially notified of suspension of CSTO membership - Kremlin
YEREVAN, February 23. /ARKA/. Armenia has not sent official notifications about freezing its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Zvezda TV channel, TASS reported.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with France 24 on February 22 that Armenia's participation in the CSTO was "frozen."
"No official action has been taken by the Armenian side in this regard. We are going to get in contact with our colleagues and clarify the meaning of these statements," Peskov said.
He also told TASS that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet discussed with Pashinyan his statements on suspending Yerevan's membership in the CSTO. And no such contacts are planned for now.
"There have not been any contacts at the moment. But within the framework of working contacts, of course, we mean to find out from our Armenian friends what was meant, how things are. So we will continue our dialog with Yerevan," the Kremlin spokesman said.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Defense Minister Suren Papikyan refused to attend a joint meeting of CSTO foreign and defense ministers in November 22, 2023 in the Belarusian capital Minsk.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not go to Minsk for the CSTO summit. Earlier in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Pashinyan said that Azerbaijan's aggressive actions and the CSTO's inaction force Armenia to seek diversification of security relations.
Early last year, Pashinyan told a press conference that Armenia would not host CSTO military exercises in 2023, saying Armenia expects the Russian-led military pact to clearly assess Azerbaijan's continued occupation of parts of Armenia's sovereign territories. Pashinyan said Armenia wants to "understand the CSTO's zone of responsibility."
In another rupture between Armenia and the CSTO, Yerevan decided not to fill its quota for the post of CSTO deputy secretary general. Armenia also recalled its ambassador from the military alliance and has yet to appoint a replacement. -0-
