Russia’s Lavrov favours CSTO mission deployment in Armenia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Armenia would have benefited from the deployment of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) mission and thus find itself in a more stable situation.

Lavrov made the statement in an interview with the Tsargrad TV channel, Caliber.Az reports.

"We were ready in the same way [as in Kazakhstan in January 2022] to help a CSTO member such as Armenia. In the autumn of 2022, a document on the deployment of a CSTO observer mission on Armenian territory was prepared for the organisation's summit in Yerevan in accordance with the request of our Armenian allies. The document was fully agreed upon at the level of the Foreign Ministers. Then at the last minute, at the summit itself, the Armenian friends asked to postpone its adoption. So far it remains on paper and cannot be implemented," Lavrov said.

According to the Russian foreign minister, "If Yerevan had confirmed what had already been agreed and remained ready to sign and enter into force, I am convinced that Armenia would have won and gained a more stable situation.

On 13 April, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told journalists in parliament that Armenia was ready to host a CSTO mission, but that discussions in this regard were ongoing.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan also noted at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart in Moscow on 20 March that a draft decision on sending a CSTO mission is on the table and work on the draft was ongoing.