Armenia's withdrawal from CSTO not off the table, says PashinyanMay 22, 2023 - 16:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia's withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is not off the table, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told a press conference on Monday, May 22. Pashinyan noted that Armenia will de jure leave the CSTO if it turns out that “the Organization has left the country in terms of fulfilling its obligations.” Such a decision can also be made if the status of a CSTO member interferes with discussions of security issues with other countries. According to him, it was precisely the membership in the CSTO that prevented Yerevan from discussing the acquisition of weapons from third countries. "We were told: you are a member of the CSTO, what should we discuss with you?" Pashinyan said. Asked whether the decision to withdraw from the CSTO would harm the Armenian-Russian relations, the prime minister said that recent opinion polls in the republic showed that the level of trust in the Russian Federation had decreased in the country. Pashinyan said earlier that the issue of Armenia's participation in the CSTO military exercises in Kyrgyzstan is under discussion. The CSTO comprises six countries – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Top stories Grigoryan added that the situation around the world and particularly in the region is very difficult. The Armenian Defense Ministry has denied Azerbaijan's accusations of violating the ceasefire. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Partner news | Viva sees growing demand for cloud services In recent years, medical institutions are starting to make use of Viva’s cloud services Turkey replacing term "Central Asia" with "Turkestan" in textbooks The Turkish Ministry of Education is replacing the term "Central Asia" with "Turkestan" in textbooks. Armenian, German presidents meet in Berlin Armenian and German Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Frank-Walter Steinmeier met in Berlin. Armenia assumes presidency of Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities The Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia said it expects productive cooperation in various formats. |