Putin to chair CSTO summit, with Armenia among topics on the agenda

The session of the CSTO Collective Security Council, chaired by Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, will take place in Moscow on November 11.

One of the main topics around the summit will be Armenia’s position in the organization: Yerevan has not paid its membership dues for more than two years, and the meeting may consider stripping the country of its voting rights, TASS reports.

The event will also review the joint work carried out during Russia’s chairmanship, set out priority areas for the CSTO’s further development, and discuss current regional and international issues. Following the summit, the leaders of the CSTO countries will issue statements on their approaches to counterterrorism cooperation and adopt the Counter-Terrorism Strategy until 2030. The common approaches of the CSTO member states are to be set out in the final declaration of the Collective Security Council. Summit participants will also adopt decisions on improving air defense and developing the CSTO Collective Air Forces.

In addition, the summit will decide to hand the CSTO chairmanship to Tajikistan in 2027.

Alexander Pankin, deputy foreign minister of Russia, told TASS earlier that Armenia had not paid its dues for more than two years, so the CSTO Collective Security Council could well consider the issue on November 11 and decide to suspend its voting rights in the organization until the dues are paid. On November 10, Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister of Russia, confirmed this information.

At the same time, Lavrov said the CSTO’s door “is not being slammed shut” for Armenia and no one intends to expel it. He also said Yerevan had not submitted an official application to leave the organization.