CSTO urges Armenia to clarify its position on membership in organization

A decision on Armenia’s future participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) should be made within a reasonable timeframe, CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov told RIA Novosti.

The statement came after Russian Permanent Representative to the CSTO Viktor Vasilyev said that a decision to strip Armenia of its voting rights in the organization’s bodies would require consensus.

Against this backdrop, Masadykov said the next session of the CSTO Collective Security Council will be held in Moscow on November 11, adding that the leaders of member states are likely to discuss the issue.

The CSTO is a regional security alliance comprising several post-Soviet states, focused on collective defense and military cooperation. Established in its current form in 2002, the organization evolved from the Collective Security Treaty signed in 1992, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Armenia froze its participation in the CSTO in February 2024, citing the alliance’s failure to meet its security obligations toward the country. Since then, Yerevan has halted membership fee payments, withdrawn from joint activities and meetings, and stated that it no longer regards itself as an active member. 

Although no formal withdrawal has been completed, Armenian leadership has described the relationship as having passed a point of no return while pursuing closer security cooperation with Western partners.

By Jeyhun Aghazada