The presidents of Russia and four other ex-Soviet states may decide next month to end Armenia’s membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the secretary general of the Russian-led military alliance said on Friday.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian froze that membership about three years ago, accusing Armenia’s CSTO allies of failing to honor their security commitments to his country. He went on to declare that the CSTO poses an existential threat to it. Moscow has dismissed the accusations.
CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov told the TASS news agency that Yerevan could be formally kicked out of the alliance during a CSTO summit slated for November 11.
“It could happen if this issue is brought up at a meeting of the Collective Security Council,” he said. “Typically, such a proposal is submitted either by the presiding country or by another member state. That is, by a head of state who is a member of the Collective Security Council.”
Pashinian has repeatedly said that he is not worried about such a prospect.
“I know that there is a mechanism for expulsion from the CSTO, and if the member states decide to remove Armenia, we will have no choice but to acknowledge that decision,” he told reporters in June. “There is nothing else we must do.”
By contrast, Pashinian opposes Armenia’s possible ouster from another Russian-led bloc, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which comprises all but one of the CSTO member states. In May, the presidents of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan urged Yerevan to hold a referendum on remaining part of the EEU or continuing to seek membership in the European Union.
A joint report by their governments released earlier this week effectively recommended that Armenia’s EEU membership be suspended until the referendum. Pashinian slammed the report on Thursday, saying that it is part of Moscow’s efforts to depose him.