Armenian authorities accused of "inability" to work with CSTO

The Armenian parliamentary opposition has accused the country's authorities of failing to reach advantageous wordings in the final documents of the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organisation] Collective Security Council meeting in Yerevan.

Agnes Hamoyan, a member of former president Kocharyan's Armenia bloc, made the remarks on November 24, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

She said the authorities should be asked why they failed to gain political support in the confrontation with Azerbaijan during Armenia's chairmanship in the organisation.
According to Hamoyan, instead of answering this question, the authorities make hints on their information platforms and through their MPs, "announce" their withdrawal from the CSTO and voice critical assessments against Russia.

However, it is unclear which security system Armenia intends to integrate into in case of withdrawal from the CSTO, the MP noted.

Hamoyan is also convinced that the 2018 criminal case against the organisation's former secretary-general Yuri Khachaturov harmed the CSTO's attitude towards Armenia and led to the current situation.

“I can’t say whether Armenia should withdraw from the CSTO because I don’t have information about what relations developed between Yerevan and the organisation during this period. But I can assure you that the case with Yuri Khachaturov had an impact and lowered the level of trust in Armenia. And if a decision is made to leave the organisation purely out of personal ambitions, then this will be another adventure,” the MP added.