Amid Armenia's turn to West, prime minister Pashinyan skips meeting of regional Commonwealth of Independent States format

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan skipped a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) meeting Friday in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in another signal of his nation's shift from regional alliances to cooperation with the West.

Previously, representatives of the Caucasian nation had also stopped attending meetings of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), criticizing it for failing to defend Armenia-backed separatist forces during a 44-day war with Azerbaijan in 2020.

On Wednesday, Pashinyan accused two CSTO member states of directly aiding Azerbaijan, though he did not name them.

Following the defeat in the Karabakh War in 2020, Armenia has increasingly turned to the West for military assistance, distancing itself from regional structures. But Armenia continues to participate in post-Soviet economic formats with reduced involvement.

Earlier Friday, Russia recalled its ambassador to Armenia for consultations after months of public disputes and harsh anti-Russian statements by Armenian top officials.

Meanwhile, participants of the CIS heads of government meeting focused on prospects for economic cooperation with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin calling for the establishment of an independent payment system to support growing trade needs.

"The trade turnover within the CIS has increased by more than two-thirds over the past four years, with 6% of this growth attributed to the implementation of action plan decisions. This contributed an additional 7% to the growth of mutual trade in services," Mishustin said.

He emphasized that the implementation of agreements on free trade in services and investments within the CIS would provide a significant boost to the association's cooperation.

The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization formed during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it consists of 11 countries.

The CIS was formed to facilitate cooperation in political, economic and security matters, aiming to foster peaceful relations and mutual support among member states.

Despite its goals, the CIS has varying degrees of integration and influence, with some member countries participating more actively than others. Ukraine has stopped any interaction with the CIS although it did not formally withdraw. Moldova stopped participating in CIS meetings but continues to take part in agreements.