The Press Secretary of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, Vahan Hunanyan, confirmed that Armenia had submitted a proposal to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to renounce its quota of Deputy Secretary-General within the military alliance.

This decision came two months after the Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan canceled a scheduled military exercise by the CSTO in Armenia. Pashinyan again accused the alliance of failing to defend Armenia against Azerbaijani military attacks.

Referring to the decision, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan restated Pashinyan’s earlier remarks that the issue doesn’t indicate Armenia’s withdrawal from the military bloc, rather than CSTO’s possible withdrawal from the region. 

“CSTO does not recognize the internationally recognized borders of Armenia but tries to use Baku’s arguments on denying the existence of such borders. It is all a matter of political will. If CSTO is committed to supporting Armenia, it will utilize all possible means and seek valid justifications to do so,” Grigoryan added. 

According to the Chairman of the Board of the Yerevan-based Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation Stepan Grigoryan, Armenia was advised to suspend its membership in CSTO, while the government adopted a middle option, i.e., dismissing all initiatives instead of exiting. 

The speculations were fueled by Armenia’s rejection of the appointment of deputy secretary-general of the CSTO, which was viewed as another indication of its growing distance from the Russia-led military coalition and pro-Western shift in Armenia’s geopolitical orientation. 

The country’s leading opposition groups expressed grave concern about this prospect.Armenian opposition MP Gegham Manukyan highlighted that the decision is within Pashinyan's campaign against CSTO, which aims at discrediting the alliance in the eyes of the international community. 

Read also: Armenian Prime Minister Declines CSTO Peacekeeping Exercises in Republic of Armenia