Pashinyan Says Armenia Would Note Any CSTO Exclusion Decision
Pashinyan says Armenia would note any CSTO exclusion decision as Yerevan skips fees, while Lavrov cites NATO drills and arms purchases by the country.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Yerevan would take note if member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization decide to exclude Armenia from the bloc.
Pashinyan said he was aware that the CSTO has an exclusion mechanism and that it is in force. According to him, if the organization’s members vote to remove Armenia, Yerevan would have no option other than to acknowledge that decision.
On June 8, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said the country had failed to pay its CSTO membership fees for the second year in a row, arguing that Armenia is effectively not taking part in the organization’s work.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later noted that Armenia, while remaining a formal CSTO member, is also expanding cooperation with NATO. He pointed to the participation of Armenian troops in NATO exercises and the country’s purchases of weapons from alliance members.
Under Article 20 of the CSTO Charter, if a member state fails to repay its budget debt for two years, the Collective Security Council may restrict its rights. These measures can include suspending its ability to nominate candidates for quota-based posts and temporarily removing its voting rights within the organization until the debt is fully repaid.