On 5 November, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) took place in Yerevan. The Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called the member states to “consider the interests of all participating nations” when it comes to issues such as foreign policy and military-technical cooperation.

“The core of our organization is that we must take into account the interests of all member states when building foreign-policy relations, military-technical cooperation and relations in all other fields. I believe that relations among our countries should be a priority for all of us. Of course, we perceive it that way, and Armenia is ready for that and is doing exactly that in its foreign policy. This, in my opinion, is the right path for our relations and the further normal development of the CSTO,” he said.

It was speculated that Pashinyan’s statement came as critique to Russia and Belarus for supplying weapons to Azerbaijan. A day earlier, the Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin said that the “issues of solidarity [has arisen] within the organization, including in the context of relations of separate countries with Azerbaijan,” but added that “all these… important issues [are] calling for attention and discussion”.

The First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Konstantin Zatulin also spoke to the reporters on the speculations. He argued that while Russia has sold weapons to Azerbaijan at market prices, Armenia, as a member of the CSTO, has received armaments from Moscow at knock-down prices. “Azerbaijan is a country that enjoys sufficient resources for purchasing armaments. It purchases weapons not only from Russia, but also from Israel, for example, and other countries,” he said. To the remark that Azerbaijan can afford to buy more Russian arms than Armenia, which disturbs the military balance in the region, Zatulin replied: “I cannot say whether Azerbaijan buys more or less. I can say that a new agreement has just been concluded between Russia and Armenia on the supply of fighter jets, there is a decision to strengthen the Russian military base in Armenia. As you know, we have no military base in the territory of Azerbaijan.”

The Chairman of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs Leonid Kalashnikov also commented on this topic. He noted that the CSTO is providing weapons not only to Azerbaijan but also to all of its partners, stressing that Armenia is being provided such weapons while other countries are not. “We have provided Armenia [with types of] weapons [that] we did not have before. So, I think it is a “sin” to be offended [by] Russia for provision of weapons. Armenia is being sold such weapon[s] [that are] not being sold to other countries,” he said.

At the session of the CSTO PA Council adopted a package of proposals on confronting the social-political destabilization by foreign states. The set contained proposals on balancing the legislation to fighting against “color revolutions” technology. It was noted that the contemporary situation is being described as attempts to replace the functions of national authorities, that international organizations are trying to influence internal politics and that they release information that has a destructive influence on mass consciousness. The proposal said that the foreign forces not only fund those initiating unrest but also use “mild force” toolset, trying to influence the governements via political parties and NGOs.

Armenia’s parliament stated that the proposal cannot be included in the country’s legislation.