OMM Newsroom
Armenia has effectively left the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) without formally ending its membership, the alliance’s Secretary-General Taalatbek Masadykov said, according to AnewZ.
Masadykov said Armenia does not participate in the bloc’s discussions or activities, takes part in no military exercises and has stopped appointing personnel to positions allocated to the country. Yerevan has also not paid its membership fee since 2024, he said.
Armenia suspended its participation in the organization in February 2024, after accusing the CSTO of failing to respond to Azerbaijan’s 2023 military operation in Garabagh.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned in June that Yerevan could face measures under the CSTO charter for failing to pay its membership fees. Under the charter, members that are two years behind on payments may lose their voting rights and the ability to nominate candidates for positions allocated to them in the organization. The charter also allows a member to be expelled for violating its rules; the decision can be taken without that country’s participation.
Pashinyan says he would welcome Armenia’s expulsion from CSTO
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in August that he would welcome the possibility of Armenia being expelled from the CSTO. In his view, that would spare the government the dilemma of deciding whether to leave the organization.
Pashinyan told Armenia’s parliament that the country had no plans to resume participation in the alliance over the next five years. The government’s 2026–2031 program also makes no mention of the CSTO.
“I know that discussions are under way in the CSTO and that they may expel our country from the organization. I would be very glad if the organization decided to expel Armenia from the CSTO,” Pashinyan said.
According to remarks by Pashinyan cited by Armenia’s state news agency Armenpress, he said this would free the country from the “dilemma of whether or not to leave.”
CSTO Council meeting planned in Moscow in November
Despite Armenia’s long-standing absence from the organization’s activities, Masadykov earlier urged against rushing to consider its expulsion from the CSTO. Russia’s state news agency TASS reported in August that he said, “Let’s not rush.”
A meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council is scheduled to take place in Moscow in November. Masadykov said it was not yet clear whether Armenia’s membership would be among the main topics of discussion.
Established in 2002, following a 1992 security treaty signed by former Soviet states, the CSTO has six members: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Armenia.
