Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made notable statements at a briefing held after his recent talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. He stated that it is not realistic to expect Armenia to resume its activities in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
In response to a question about whether the Armenian side had changed its position regarding the CSTO after the talks in Moscow, the Prime Minister said that there is no need to look back at the past.
It appears that Armenia will submit a written application to withdraw from the CSTO. However, Russia's response to the matter is noteworthy.
In a statement to Modern.az, military expert Adalat Verdiyev said that Nikol Pashinyan's government does not dare to submit a written application to withdraw from the CSTO:
“Armenia effectively does not participate in any CSTO activities. It does not even pay its CSTO membership fees. At the same time, the Armenian side specifically lacks the courage to submit a written application to withdraw from the CSTO. In fact, Armenia is trying to place all the blame on the Kremlin. However, other CSTO members must also say “yes” to decisions to be adopted within the CSTO. Among the CSTO member countries, there are both Turkic states and Belarus that have better, superior strategic relations with Azerbaijan. These countries would block any decision by the Kremlin for intervention against Azerbaijan. In such a case, it was already out of the question for Russia to attack Azerbaijan to avoid becoming an object of criticism itself. The CSTO is not against Azerbaijan. This organization was created as a military bloc, but it was stillborn. To date, the organization has not militarily intervened in any processes anywhere in the world and has not participated in the resolution of any war or conflict. CSTO countries, which are in the same bloc, have not only failed to support Russia over the Ukraine war but even call it an aggressor. Similarly, countries in the same bloc have condemned Armenia for the occupation of Azerbaijani territories. Subsequently, they congratulated Azerbaijan on its victory. Countries that kept Azerbaijani lands under occupation and supported the occupation are now openly criticizing each other before victorious Azerbaijan for their failures. Those who fight with us are not happy”.
A. Verdiyev emphasized that Armenia's application to withdraw from the CSTO will naturally result in another wave of Russia's anger:
“We are already seeing the first signals of this. Direct military actions by Russia against Armenia are not expected, but Armenia is highly dependent on Russia in economic matters. Many large companies in Armenia belong to Russia. On the other hand, a large part of the currency flow into Armenia comes from Russia within the framework of the Eurasian Union. Russia may create certain problems in these matters. As for military matters, Russia's military base is already located on Armenian territory. Although not directly, they will indirectly take certain steps to influence Armenia's internal affairs, including supporting the Kocharyan and Karapetyan teams they control in the elections to be held in the summer”.
