Yerevan is free to leave the CSTO: Peskov

Yerevan is free to decide to leave the CSTO if Armenia does not need to be a member of the organization, said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president.

Nikol Pashinyan, RA Prime Minister, speaking in parliament, said he would be pleased if the CSTO expelled Armenia from the organization.

“I find it hard to understand what it means to be pleased if he were expelled. “If Yerevan no longer needs, due to its national interests, to be a member of such an important organization for ensuring regional security, then it is free to make the appropriate decision and leave this organization,” he told reporters.

Speaking about Armenia’s intention to join the EU, Peskov recalled the experience of Turkey and other countries, for which decades have passed since they submitted their applications.