Armenia's decision to freeze its membership in the CSTO, especially against the backdrop of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's claim that the organization itself has left the country, is the result of "complex logic." Yerevan is now, for some reason, freezing an organization that, according to its own claims, has already left Armenia. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated at a press briefing Thursday, commenting on NATO's Eagle Partner 2026 military exercise being held in Armenia.

According to Zakharova, this is "complex logic".

"At this phase, they [i.e. Armenia] are talking about freezing their membership in the CSTO. Such joint maneuvers with NATO countries only cause regret. It is particularly worrying that the implementation of these educational programs in the territory of Armenia is already taking on a systematic nature: they are being held every year since 2023.

These military exercises do not pursue any peacekeeping goals. The main goal of NATO is obvious, and the most noteworthy thing is that they do not hide it either. Namely, to continue to tear the [Armenian] republic away from its traditional ally, Russia. It is no secret that during such trainings, our country is considered a potential adversary, which is enshrined in NATO’s conceptual documents; that is, Armenian military personnel are being taught to fight against Russia,” the Russian MFA spokesperson stated.

She added that at one time it was even impossible to imagine such a thing, especially since there is a large Armenian community in Russia, many of whose members are not going to face a choice or divide their hearts in two.

“For them, this is a shared historical and cultural territory, and they sincerely treat it that way. Years ago this seemed improbable, but today it fits perfectly into the context of the statements of the top leadership of Armenia that Armenia is not an ally of Moscow; for example, on the issue of Ukraine. The West is catching these signals, drawing conclusions, and trying to draw Yerevan into the confrontation with Russia.

In addition, these military exercises enable Western countries to impose their own standards of army building and management, through which they gain additional leverage over Armenia and its policy,” the Russian MFA spokesperson said.

According to Zakharova, it is naive to hope for a Western security “umbrella,” since this is just an illusion.

“The first ones whom Western countries abandon and deceive are precisely those whom they called ‘allies’ until recently. Instead, the collapse of the prospects for [Yerevan’s] cooperation with Moscow in this area is already becoming quite realistic.

When planning such maneuvers, it is important to also take into account the reaction of other countries in the region, their neighbors. However, judging by the composition of this year's participants [in NATO's Eagle Partner military exercise], in their obsession with pleasing Western capitals, Yerevan has decided not to attach much importance to these issues. These military exercises will not bring any benefit to the stabilization of the South Caucasus, but will only create new geopolitical dividing lines and threats," the Russian MFA spokesperson concluded.