“The CSTO must first review itself to understand whether or not it exists,” Simonian told reporters. “If it does exist it must declare … what it didn’t do and what it must do.”
Armenia began boycotting high-level meetings, military exercises and other activities of the CSTO even before Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian announced in early 2024 the effective suspension of its membership in the military alliance. Pashinian declared in September that Yerevan’s relationship with its ex-Soviet allies is likely to reach the “point of no return” because the CSTO poses an existential threat to his country.
The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the claim, arguing that Pashinian is still careful not to leave the alliance altogether. In November, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope that Armenia “will return to full-scale work within the framework of this organization.”
The CSTO membership freeze reflected a broader deterioration of Russian-Armenian relations. In the last couple of years, Pashinian has sought to reorient Armenia towards the West in response to what he sees as Russia’s and the CSTO’s failure to honor their security commitments to the South Caucasus state.
In recent weeks, the Armenian leadership appears to have tried to reach out to Moscow which looks set to benefit from geopolitical shifts generated by the new U.S. administration of President Donald Trump. Pashinian told Putin on March 14 that he will attend on May 9 a military parade in the Russian capital dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. Also, the Armenian and Russian foreign ministries spoke by phone on Monday for the second time in three days.
Two Armenian media outlets reported earlier this month that Pashinian instructed Armenia’s parliament, Foreign Ministry and other government agencies to unfreeze and intensify contacts with their Russian counterparts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted positively to those reports late last week. Simonian denied them, however.
Meanwhile, Armenian opposition leaders scoffed at what they described as Pashinian’s efforts to again curry favor with the Russians. Agnesa Khamoyan of the opposition Hayastan alliance, claimed that the Armenian premier will tell them “with the look of a sinner” that they misunderstood his foreign policy moves and that he now wants to “warm up Armenian-Russian relations a lot.” Another opposition lawmaker, Hayk Mamijanian, said Pashinian is looking for a new foreign “master” that could help him cling to power.
“We have never declared that we are breaking off or should break off relations with any country,” countered Simonian. “The same applies to Russia.”