Pashinyan considered CSTO a dead end for Armenia from the very beginning – Vladimir Kireyev

Speaking with Alpha News, Vladimir Kireyev, Head of the Analytical Department of the International Eurasian Movement, commented on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that Armenia considers itself outside the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the return “is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible.”

“Pashinyan was known for his views even before coming to power. He believed that Armenia’s membership in the CSTO does not meet Armenia’s strategic interests and that Armenia’s future lies in integration with Western blocs, economic, political, and military alliances, and the former post-Soviet countries can remain as partners, but not the main ones. From the very beginning, he said that the CSTO is an alliance that is not beneficial for Armenia, which is a dead end and rather pulls Armenia into the past. Having come to power step by step, he gradually reduced Armenia’s dependence on the integration blocs created by Russia, the CSTO and the EAEU,” Kireyev said.

According to the expert, without the CSTO, Armenia will remain defenseless against the aggression of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

“The issue of the CSTO was most acute because this particular bloc is an obstacle in relations with the West. It was the military-political bloc that was the most unacceptable for the West and was an obstacle for the development of cooperation and partnership between Armenia and Western integration structures. However, it was impossible to immediately break off these relations, because the Armenian power bloc was firmly convinced that there was no alternative to the CSTO and that without the CSTO, Armenia would remain defenseless against the aggression of Turkey and Azerbaijan,” Kireyev concluded.

Turkey expects Armenia-Azerbaijan talks to lead to signing of agreement.

Ankara expects that positive developments in the talks between Yerevan and Baku will lead to the signing of a peace agreement, the Turkish National Security Council said in a statement following a session led by the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Establishing permanent peace is in the interests of all players in the region,” the Turkish National Security Council added.