After the Prague agreement in 2022, Armenia and Azerbaijan mutually recognized each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty on the basis of the Alma-Ata declaration. And after freezing CSTO membership, practically all arms markets opened for us. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this during an international conference, entitled “Comprehensive Security & Resilience – 2026,” on Thursday.

Pashinyan assured that as of August 2022, no country—except for Russia—was selling weapons to Armenia. He added that even those weapons for which payment had already been made—to Russia—were not transferred to Armenia.

As per the Armenian premier, other arms markets were closed for Armenia, as potential sources of supply argued that Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), so their weapons samples could end up in third countries. “In addition, there was concern that the sold weapons could be used outside Armenia’s internationally recognized territory,” the prime minister added.

He noted that after the May 28 military parade, however, no neighboring country raised any problems, as it was obvious that Armenia would not use its army outside its internationally recognized territory, except for peacekeeping missions.

Pashinyan argued that the previous thinking had always created security challenges. “Moreover, we came to this [conclusion] not through analysis, but life forced [us]. After the events of September 2022, it became obvious that if we do not change the model of thinking, we will lose Armenia. In 2022, we were on the verge of losing Armenia's statehood, sovereignty, and independence. We must reckon with this," he noted.

According to him, security is a more multifaceted phenomenon than one might imagine. "Until 2022, the security formula [for Armenia] was simple, as it consisted of only one sentence: ‘The CSTO will ensure our security.’ This sentence had neither a continuation nor a preface. It was a system consisting of one component," Nikol Pashinyan said.

At the same time, the Armenian prime minister noted that a country without a combat-ready army can become a target of aggression; therefore, according to him, Armenia is developing a combat-ready army to protect its internationally recognized territory.