Head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation of Russia— on Armenia’s freeze of its CSTO membership

Dmitry Shugaev, head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, commented on Armenia’s freeze of its CSTO membership in an interview with Vesti.

“I think countries are free to choose their own partners. It’s just that CSTO membership carries many advantages. I believe it is more accurate to speak in terms of sovereignty on these matters. And of course, we respect the choices of our partners. That said, membership in our organization does, without question, offer many other benefits that other countries would hardly be in a position to provide,” he said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had previously stated that Yerevan froze its participation in CSTO activities on the grounds that the organization had allegedly posed threats to the republic’s sovereignty.