Consequences of Armenia’s withdrawal from CSTO constitutes top secret information Chief of General Staff says

Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Edward Asryan has told a briefing that Armenia has not yet withdrawn from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Armenia has not yet withdrawn from the CSTO and the possible consequences of the withdrawal constitute top secret information, Asryan said, TASS reports.

"We have not yet left the CSTO, the follow-up to your question contains classified information," he said, replying to a question by a journalist about the possible consequences of withdrawing from the CSTO. He also said that joint army structures with the CSTO exist "on paper."

The military official also refused to comment on the issues of Russian arms supplies, noting that this process also constitutes top secret information.

Recently, the Armenian authorities have repeatedly criticized Russia with Yerevan skipping meetings in some integration formats. In particular, the country’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not attend the CSTO summit in Minsk and also said that the republic had suspended its participation in the organization.