Moscow says Armenia’s Western pivot runs counter its national interests

Armenia’s increasing pivot toward the West is often coming at the expense of its national interests, including a notable withdrawal from cooperation with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led military alliance.

This assessment was made by Dmitry Masyuk, Deputy Director of the Fourth Department for CIS Countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry, who spoke to TASS news agency, per Caliber.Az.

“We feel the destructive influence of Western-oriented forces within Armenia. Unfortunately, the South Caucasus republic offers little resistance to these changes and continues its orientation toward the West, often to the detriment of its own national interests,” Masyuk said.

He cited Armenia’s distancing from the CSTO as a concrete example of this trend.

Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Yerevan had suspended its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), citing concerns that the alliance posed threats to the country’s sovereignty. In December of last year, Pashinyan declared that Armenia’s relations with the CSTO had passed a point of no return.

At an international security forum in Warsaw, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated that Armenia is carefully evaluating the risks associated with a possible withdrawal from the CSTO.

Meanwhile, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, commented that Armenia’s decision does not strengthen the country’s security, and that a full return to active CSTO membership would require time.

By Khagan Isayev