Your trusted source

Relations between Armenia and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have long been frozen, Yerevan-based political analyst Sergey Melkonyan said, referring to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s latest statement.

In an interview to France 24 on Thursday, Pashinyan said Armenia had frozen its participation in the CSTO because the security bloc had failed the country.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Melkonyan highlighted that Armenia continued rejecting CSTO meetings and exercises, refusing to host CSTO drills on its territory.

"Armenia-CSTO relations have now hit a new low. In addition to declining participation in CSTO meetings, Armenia has long turned down and refused to sign the decisions adopted by the organization at its sessions, thus blocking their implementation and obstructing the CSTO activity,” the expert remarked.

“The problem is not only that Pashinyan essentially revealed the existing state of affairs, but also where exactly he did it. He made the announcement in France, a NATO member country, and, in fact, this message is addressed to the West. If you count on the West's support, you have to take anti-Russian steps.

"The EU, France or the U.S. are not ready, even formally, to provide Armenia with the guarantees the country has in the CSTO. It’s true that they mostly do not work, but at least the CSTO has some commitments to Armenia," Melkonyan said.