Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will not participate in the meeting of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) slated for November 23, his spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan said Tuesday, November 14.

According to her, the matter was discussed in a phone call between Pashinyan and Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko earlier in the day.

Baghdasaryan said Pashinyan hopes his colleagues will understand his decision.

For some time now, Armenia has been questioning the efficacy of being part of the CSTO – which also includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – as the bloc is unwilling to help Yerevan against Baku’s aggression.