Artur Atayev: Armenian-Russian military and political cooperation will stall

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political scientist Artur Atayev commented on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement about freezing Armenia’s participation in the CSTO.

According to the expert, Pashinyan is convinced that the mechanism of the Collective Security Treaty Organization is not working for Armenia.

“Firstly, I would like to note that the statement about freezing Armenia’s participation in the CSTO was made after a meeting with the French Minister of Armed Forces, after a rather long cooperation with the French Ministry of Armed Forces that really had results for Armenia. In particular, it means that a French military representative or military inspector will be sent to Armenia on a permanent basis.

Secondly, this statement is, so far, just a political statement. No written notification in this regard has been sent to the CSTO Secretariat, but it is obvious that this is a matter of time. Today, Pashinyan, as his statement suggests, is convinced that the CSTO mechanism is not working for Armenia; therefore, the prevailing opinion among the political elite of Armenia is that in this case, the current format of the statement only certifies the reality,” Atayev said.

According to the expert, Armenia will implement a multi-vector line of foreign policy, which was chosen by Pashinyan.

“Long-term Russian-Armenian cooperation in the political sphere is definitely at risk. Apparently, the line chosen by Pashinyan, such as multi-vector foreign policy and American-European cooperation, will be implemented. In the economic sphere, I believe cooperation will continue at the same serious and effective level as now,” the political scientist noted.

“The question of the military base in Gyumri is not raised, but we see that real cooperation with France will increase, while real military and political cooperation with Russia will stall,” Atayev concluded.