Top diplomat: Yerevan’s withdrawal from CSTO not under discussion

Armenia’s withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) is not currently on the table, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan confirmed.

“Yerevan does not participate in the adoption of decisions and documents in the organisation, but it does not interfere either. This is our policy at this stage. Armenia conducts its foreign policy based on its interests, on the principle of diversification and balance,” Safaryan stated, as reported by Armenian press sources, cited by Caliber.Az.

It is important to note that Armenia will not take part in the upcoming CSTO Council meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The next session of the Collective Security Council, the CSTO’s highest governing body, is scheduled for November 27 in Kyrgyzstan’s capital.

In addition to Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov, who currently chairs the council, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan have confirmed their attendance.

While Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has indicated that Yerevan has frozen its participation in the CSTO, no formal decision has been made to withdraw from the organisation.

By Tamilla Hasanova