22 May 2023 14:57

Yerevan considering withdrawal from CSTO - Pashinyan

YEREVAN. May 22 (Interfax) - The issue of Armenia's withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) remains relevant, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

"Should Armenia decide to withdraw from the CSTO de jure, that will happen as a result of the understanding that the CSTO is withdrawing from Armenia. When I speak about the CSTO's withdrawal from Armenia, I imply the Organization's commitments to Armenia," Pashinyan said at a press conference on Monday.

"I would not say that the item has been taken off the agenda. It has not, because there is still an issue to be discussed. The discussion of this issue is continuing," Pashinyan said.

"I cannot rule out the possibility of Armenia's de jure withdrawal from the CSTO or a freeze on its membership. However, that will happen only if we see the CSTO's withdrawal from Armenia. Look - there has been constant talk about reasons why a CSTO monitoring mission does not visit Armenia, about the reason for that. We speak about that in a transparent manner," he said.

"If it becomes clear that the CSTO has left Armenia, the status of organization member, which gives nothing, will hinder Armenia's discussions of security," Pashinyan said.

"Do you think we have not been offered by other countries to buy weapons and military hardware? Of course, there has been such an opportunity, however, the closure of that opportunity was mostly explained by Armenia's membership in the CSTO," he said.

Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said on May 14 that Armenia had discussed its withdrawal from the CSTO. Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan told journalists later that Armenia was not discussing its withdrawal from the CSTO at the moment.