Russia MFA comments on Armenia’s non-participation in CSTO FMs meeting

Russia expects that Armenia will understand that the CSTO platform provides all opportunities for cooperation in matters of ensuring regional security, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told RIA Novosti, commenting on Armenia’s decision not to attend the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CSTO.

“We hope that our Armenian colleagues and we remain allies, will nonetheless understand that the most effective method of ensuring regional security is the cooperation of regional countries, and the CSTO platform provides all the opportunities for this,” he said.

Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the country will quit the CSTO when the authorities deem it necessary. In February 2024, he said Yerevan had frozen its participation in the CSTO. In March, Pashinyan said that Armenia will leave the CSTO if the organization does not respond to the issues raised by Yerevan regarding the country’s sovereign territory. Earlier, Armenia stopped participating in CSTO events. In particular, on May 31, Armenia did not participate in the Council of Defense Ministers held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The CSTO includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.