Armenia remains our ally and all existing obligations are still in force, says CSTO Secretary General

Despite disturbing sentiments among Armenia’s elites, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) hopes for the political sobriety of the country’s leadership, while Armenia still remains the organization’s ally, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov told TASS.

“I should say that certain developments and sentiments among the elites of Armenia cause concerns. However, we hope for the political sobriety of the Armenian leadership and for a balanced assessment of the prospects for the implementation of different scenarios regarding the country’s further participation in the organization. I want to stress that Armenia remains our ally and all existing obligations are still in force,” Tasmagambetov said when asked whether the CSTO anticipated Armenia’s statement on its membership suspension.

“Both I and the CSTO Secretariat work in strict compliance with the organization’s regulations and procedures. We definitely resort to our analysts and all tools available to them to analyze the overall situation regarding Armenia and the country’s interaction with the organization,” Tasmagambetov added.

According to Tasmagambetov, Armenia has not participated lately in the work of the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) Secretariat; however, there have been no official requests for the suspension of the country’s membership in the organization.

“It is true that Yerevan has not participated in the work of the CSTO Secretariat recently. This is Armenia’s decision at the current stage, and we, as an international organization, respect any decision on behalf of a sovereign state.

Nevertheless, the organization keeps operating in full volume, all procedures are observed in full compliance with the CSTO regulatory framework. The Secretariat keeps constantly informing relevant structures in Yerevan about the decisions, which have already been made or are still on the agenda. Regarding the previously made statements by Armenian officials, I would like to point out that the Secretariat did not receive from Yerevan any official requests on the suspension of its membership in the organization,” he told TASS.