Russia hopes Armenia will fully resume CSTO participation

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) remains a sought-after association; Russia hopes that Armenia will eventually fully resume its participation in it, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Rossiya-1.

Peskov noted that Armenia's position is well known.

“We cannot agree on everything, because the CSTO remains relevant. All countries are unanimous in the need to further strengthen and develop the bloc,” Peskov emphasized.

“Therefore, we hope that this is the path we will take further, and we hope that our Armenian friends will also eventually resume their approach in favor of expanded participation in the organization”.

The CSTO summit in Minsk on November 23 took place against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between the organization and Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan previously accused the CSTO of failing to provide assistance to Yerevan during Azerbaijan’s aggression in May 2021 and September 2022. Against this background, Yerevan asked the CSTO to remove the issue of assistance to the country from the agenda, and Pashinyan himself informed the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko that he did not intend to go to Minsk. The Foreign Minister and Defense Minister of Armenia did not attend the CSTO events before the summit. At the same time, Yerevan has declares it was not going to leave the CSTO.