Moscow hopes Yerevan comprehends security capability of CSTO

YEREVAN, June 20. /ARKA/. Moscow hopes that Yerevan understands that the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military bloc led by Russia, provides all necessary opportunities for cooperation in the field of regional security, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Galuzin told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

“We hope that our Armenian partners, and we remain allies, eventually understand that the most efficient way to ensure regional security is cooperation between countries in the region, and the CSTO provides all the necessary opportunities,” he said.

Armenia revealed on Wednesday that its Foreign Minister Arart Mirzoyan would not attend the CSTO Foreign Ministers Council, scheduled to be held in Kazakhstan on Friday.

Armenia announced that it  was “freezing” its membership in the bloc in February 2024. While speaking in the National Assembly on June 12, the country’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan conceded that Armenia might seek formal exit from the alliance, too.