Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told parliament on Wednesday that relations with Russia have deteriorated beyond the “point of no return.”
Pashinian was specifically referring to Armenia's withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led regional security alliance. armenia Paused Operations with the CSTO began in June after Russian “peacekeepers” stood by and watched Azerbaijan invade the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, known to ethnic Armenian Christians as the Republic of Artsakh. started.
Armenians no longer live there, having been ethnically cleansed by Azerbaijan's Muslim conquerors. When Azerbaijan began advancing into Nagorno-Karabakh and blockading the region in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin did nothing and, since the disputed territory is not technically “Armenian territory,” CTSO argued that the defense clause would not be invoked.
Pashinian rejected “With all due respect to the Russian president,” the rationale said Wednesday, “with all due respect to the Russian president,” Putin's inaction “highlights fundamental problems within the CSTO.”
“When the invasion happened, we said we had crossed a line that should not be crossed. They answered, 'The border has not been officially demarcated,'” Pashinian said.
CSTO Secretary-General of Kazakhstan Imanglihari Tasmangambetov said on Tuesday that Armenia, despite missing several meetings and joint military exercises, remains a “formal ally” of the CSTO as it has not formally withdrawn from the organization. ”, he said. Tasmangambetov said Armenia is free to resume full participation at any time.
Pashinian is I'm saying Since June, Armenia has said it has no intention of resuming CSTO operations and plans to formally withdraw at a time of its own choosing. On Wednesday he said Armenians' participation in the CSTO is becoming “increasingly difficult, if not impossible.”
Pashinyan also confirmed on Wednesday that he would refuse to host the December summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a trading bloc of five former Soviet states, of which Armenia currently holds the rotating chair.
EEU officials tried to minimize the disdain, saying they had mutually agreed to hold a summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, this year without any particular reason, but Pashinyan said the organization's He said he flatly refused to allow members of the group to visit the capital, Petersburg. Yerevan.
“Personally, I did not think it would be a good idea to hold the event in Armenia, because unfortunately, due to the circumstances that you are all aware of, not all members of the EEU Supreme Economic Council are desirable for Armenia. '' he told MPs.
Pashinyan's veiled disdain was almost certainly directed at Vladimir Putin and possibly his vassal, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. In May, Lukashenko infuriated Armenians by saying: meeting Meeting with President Ilham Alibay of Azerbaijan in the conquered Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Pashinyan was cautious about whether Armenia would arrest Putin during the virtual visit, following instructions from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which indicted Putin for war crimes in Ukraine in 2023. I participated The ICC treaty was signed in November 2023, much to Moscow's dissatisfaction.
As Armenia moves further away from Russia, it has expressed more interest in cooperating with Western countries. On Friday, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikian said: met and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will discuss what Austin calls “a growing strategic partnership through training and exercises, military education, and capacity building.”
Papikian said the meeting highlighted “priority areas” for improving military cooperation between Armenia and the U.S., including improving the training of the Armenian military and increasing “interoperability” with the U.S. military. The U.S. and Armenian militaries have conducted two joint training exercises in the past year. This angered Russia, which warned Armenia that a partnership with the United States could not replace Russia's role in meeting Armenia's security needs.
