Premier says Armenia near ‘point of no return’ in ties with Russian-led military alliance

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Armenia’s premier said Wednesday that his country is nearing a breaking point in its ties with the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

“There is an expression: ‘point of no return,’ and if we haven't crossed it, there is a high probability that we will cross that point,” Nikol Pashinyan said at the Second Global Armenian Summit in the country’s capital Yerevan.

Pashinyan said two years have passed since Yerevan posed questions to the Russian-led military alliance, adding that not only were the answers to these questions not given, but that it is “obvious” that they will not be given.

“Even if it’s not obvious, I can say that as long as these answers are not heard, the Republic of Armenia is moving further and further away from the CSTO every minute and every second,” he added.

He also said that one of the reasons Armenia froze its CSTO membership is because the alliance has failed to fulfill its security obligations towards Yerevan.

“In our opinion, the CSTO creates threats to Armenia’s security and Armenia’s future existence, sovereignty, and statehood,” he said on the reasons behind Yerevan’s decision.

In February, Pashinyan announced in an interview that Armenia had suspended its participation in the CSTO. In May, Armenia said it will not take part in financing the military alliance, which was formed in 2002.

Armenia's distancing itself from the CSTO is tied to several factors, primarily stemming from its dissatisfaction with the bloc's response to its security concerns, especially regarding the conflict with Azerbaijan in the Karabakh region back in 2020.

Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to normalization and the demarcation of their border.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh following an operation after which separatist forces in the region surrendered.

- ‘CSTO cannot, does not pose any danger’

On Pashinyan’s remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia “categorically dismissed” the Armenian premier’s concerns.

“The CSTO cannot and does not pose any danger, any threat to the sovereignty of Armenia; on the contrary, this organization stands guard over the sovereignty of its member states,” Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

Peskov added that Moscow will wait to convey this position to Yerevan, and that they continue to maintain contacts with Armenia, calling the country their “close partner.”​​​​​​​