Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Yerevan does not plan to resume full participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization over the next five years.
According to Pashinyan, the CSTO is already discussing Armenia’s future status, while the organization’s charter allows for the expulsion of a member state.
He said he would welcome a decision to remove Armenia from the bloc, arguing that such a move would spare Yerevan from having to decide whether to leave on its own. Pashinyan added that Armenia’s interest in the CSTO has effectively been exhausted.
The prime minister also said the country should rely primarily on its own capabilities. In his view, Armenia should not depend on either Russian or Western assistance, while a combat-ready army should remain a central pillar of national security.
Armenia stopped paying its CSTO membership fees in 2024, effectively freezing its participation in the organization. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously warned that the refusal to make payments could lead to various consequences, although it described Armenia’s expulsion as an unlikely scenario.
On June 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said CSTO members had agreed to consider applying a provision of the organization’s charter to Armenia over two years of unpaid contributions. The following day, Pashinyan said Yerevan would take note of any decision to expel the country, adding that Armenia no longer had anything to do in the organization.