Russian envoy sees no security alternative for Armenia other than CSTO

Russian Ambassador to Yerevan Sergey Kopyrkin has said that no security mechanism in the South Caucasus could serve as an alternative to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for Armenia. 

Kopyrkin made the statement when asked about the possibility of Armenia leaving the CSTO, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.  

According to him, Moscow expects that Yerevan fully understands this reality.  

On January 15, Armenia’s Defence Minister Suren Papikyan said that the country is interested in maintaining high-level relations with Russia. He emphasized that while Armenia is not actively participating in the CSTO de facto, it has not revoked any bilateral agreements with Russia or formally withdrawn from the organization.  

A report by Armenia’s Foreign Intelligence Service deemed it unlikely that Yerevan would unfreeze its CSTO membership in 2025. The service added that it would continue to question the authority of the security structure.  

Later, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Armenia has not yet informed Moscow of any plans to leave the CSTO.

By Khagan Isayev