Russian Foreign Ministry indicates that Armenia's voting rights in CSTO could be revoked, while Yerevan believes there is no way to resume its participation

YEREVAN, August 11. /ARKA/. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) may consider revoking Armenia's voting rights during a summit scheduled for November 11 in Moscow. In response, Yerevan has expressed that it sees no basis for re-engaging with the organization.

Galuzin explained that the authority to impose restrictive measures on a CSTO member lies with the Collective Security Council of the organization. In an interview with TASS, he emphasized that Armenia's decision to abstain from CSTO activities and its failure to endorse annual budget decisions do not exempt it from the obligation to pay its membership fees.

The CSTO Charter specifies that if a member state does not settle its budget debts within a two-year period, the Council will decide to suspend its voting rights in CSTO bodies until the debt is cleared.

Yerevan's Reaction

In response to the Russian remarks, Sargis Khandanyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the National Assembly of Armenia and a member of the ruling Civil Contract party, affirmed that Yerevan's stance on the CSTO remains unchanged. He pointed out that Armenia has not engaged in the organization's activities for several years and sees no path to re-engagement.

Khandanyan mentioned that Yerevan will keep an eye on future decisions made by its CSTO partners but does not foresee any circumstances that would lead Armenia to resume its participation in the organization. He attributed Yerevan's position to ongoing disagreements regarding security matters, noting that the issues that prompted Armenia to halt its participation in the CSTO are still unresolved.

In 2024, Armenia declared it would halt its involvement in the CSTO. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan cited the organization's inability to meet its security commitments to Armenia as the reason for this decision.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry also indicated that Yerevan would not be contributing to the CSTO's budget.-0-