Politics
The Prime Minister did not rule out that Armenia decides to withdraw from the CSTO
RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan commented on what he means by "withdrawing from the CSTO." "First of all, I mean the obligations of the organization. I would not say that this issue is off the agenda. He did not come out. As long as there is a question to be discussed here, that question is discussed."
The Prime Minister reminded us that whether the monitoring group will come to Armenia is constantly asked and discussed transparently, "I do not rule out that Armenia may decide to de jure suspend or freeze its membership in the CSTO. But this will happen only when we record that the CSTO has left Armenia. Now that it's out, what else should we do? Is there anything else left to do? If it is our record that the CSTO has left Armenia, the de jure and inactive status of the CSTO member will only prevent us from discussing the security agenda with other countries.
Do you think that Armenia did not have the opportunity to purchase weapons or military equipment from other countries? Of course, that opportunity existed, and the closure of those opportunities was mainly explained by Armenia being a CSTO member. It was said, "Well, you are a member of CSTO; what should we discuss with you?"
The Prime Minister also spoke about Armenian-Russian relations, stressing that a recent sociological survey was conducted, and the trust in Russia among Armenian citizens is decreasing. "When we say relationship, isn't it only the interpersonal relationships of the leaders?" he said.
