Armenia is already de facto not participating in the CSTO’s work, Pashinyan’s statement contains nothing new: Artur Atayev

Political scientist Artur Atayev commented to Alpha News on a statement by Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia, that Armenia will not return to work within the CSTO for the next five years, and that a possible expulsion of the country from the organization would free Yerevan from having to make the decision itself.

“Armenia is already de facto not in the CSTO. The status quo that has taken shape here needs to be taken into account. So this simply needs to be formally recognized by a number of the structures coordinating this organization, and that’s it. So I think this statement doesn’t carry the slightest new message. It’s a continuation of the fairly clear course he chose earlier,” Atayev said.

The political scientist noted that today the issue is no longer so much about Armenia’s membership in the CSTO as about a broader choice of the country’s foreign-policy and civilizational course.

“Under current conditions, everything fits into that well-known formula of choice. This is not primarily about the formula ‘Armenia in the CSTO or not,’ but about whether Armenia is a pro-Western, anti-Russian country or a Eurasian-oriented one. That’s the key choice,” the expert noted.

In Atayev’s view, Pashinyan’s words that a possible expulsion from the CSTO would free Yerevan from having to make a choice should also be viewed in the context of the confrontation between two integration tracks.

“What we’re talking about globally right now is a choice between European integration and Eurasian integration. Russia, too, poses a clear question to states: are you for Russia or against it. The European Union poses that same choice, that same need to choose. This is natural and understandable,” Atayev concluded.