Great Britain has accepted Armenia’s decision to freeze CSTO membership as a sovereign right of the country and will work with its Euro-Atlantic allies to support Yerevan in the event of retaliatory threats from Russia, UK Minister of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey has said.

Heappey made the remarks in a written statement provided to a member of the country’s parliament, according to RT.

The UK Minister of State noted that Armenia’s decision does not mean an official withdrawal from the organization.

Heappey added that his country will continue to work closely with Armenia in order to identify opportunities for closer cooperation.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a recent interview with France 24 that Armenia has frozen its participation in the Russian-led bloc. Following the announcement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared that Russia hopes to receive a response from Armenia regarding the fulfillment of obligations and participation in joint integration structures, including the CSTO, warning of consequences.