The other countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) continue to consider Armenia a full member of the association, but this status implies the fulfillment of all obligations within the framework of the organization. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told this to reporters following the meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers, TASS reports.

“We still consider Armenia a full member of this organization. But, of course, full membership implies participation and fulfillment of all obligations arising from the CSTO statutory documents; including, by the way, the payment of membership fees,” the Russian FM said.

Also, he stated that the participants of the meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers “have noticed that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia [Ararat Mirzoyan] has once again refused to participate in this event.”

“We proceed from the fact that the heads of our states, when they met within the framework of the CSTO, also took into account the fact of Armenia’s attitude towards the CSTO,” Lavrov added.

According to him, the statements of the Armenian leadership indicate that the trends are developing in a “multi-vector context.”

“The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia recently announced that his period between the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union will soon pass. Someone from the Armenian leadership announced that in the near future it will be necessary to make a final decision on the CSTO.

“We are not putting any pressure on Armenian ruling circles, we will expect clarity on all these issues. But we all understand that if Armenia turns away from its allies, from its nearest partners, from neighbors, this will hardly benefit the Armenian people,” concluded the Russian FM.