Neither Russia nor CSTO reacts to attacks on Armenia's internationally recognised borders - Mirzoyan

YEREVAN, 2 October. /ARKA/. Neither Russia nor the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) reacts in case of attacks on Armenia's internationally recognised borders, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said.

‘Russia has not justified itself. Moreover, Armenia is a formal member of the CSTO, and when attacks on its internationally recognised borders are recorded, we again see that neither Russia, nor our other formal allies in the CSTO, react. Moreover, their reaction does not coincide with our expectations,’ he noted on Wednesday during a panel discussion on the margins of the Warsaw Security Forum.

The foreign minister stressed that Armenia has frozen its membership in the CSTO and has no intentions to return to the relations that existed before these incidents.

‘We don't see ourselves in a military alliance that doesn't work. I think we all have to be careful and this is not a big secret - stability should be a priority and the processes that can happen should be well calculated and should be manageable in terms of risks,’ he emphasised.

According to Mirzoyan, this brings Armenia closer to the EU and the US.

‘In the context of society's values, we are closer to the EU, Western countries, but in the context of security, psychologically the people of Armenia used to associate themselves with Russia. Now the second component has collapsed and the people do not see any other reason why not to link themselves with the European Union,’ Mirzoyan said.

In February 2024, Armenia announced a freeze on its membership in the CSTO and later also refused to pay membership fees to the organisation.

On June 12, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the next logical step in relations with the CSTO would be to withdraw from the organisation.