Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia is not currently participating in the work of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) because it has been unable to explain to its people why the organization did not fulfill its treaty obligations. He made the remarks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pashinyan emphasized that Armenia has repeatedly raised the issue and has never hidden existing problems in its relations with the CSTO.

“You remember, we have spoken about this many times. We have never hidden our problems with the CSTO, because in 2022 there was a specific situation. In my opinion, the CSTO mechanisms should have worked, but they did not,” he said.

According to the prime minister, it was precisely the organization’s lack of response that led to the current state of relations.

“And of course, this led to the situation we have now in our relations with the CSTO,” Pashinyan noted.

He reiterated the key reason for Armenia’s stance:

“We are currently not participating in the work of the CSTO because, for the simple reason, we still cannot explain to our citizens why the CSTO did not respond and did not fulfill the obligations outlined in the Collective Security Treaty,” the prime minister concluded.