Bilateral relations between

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and the

Collective Security Treaty Organization The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, ) is an Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Th ...

(CSTO) were formalized when Armenia became a full member of the CSTO in 1994. Since February 2024, Armenia has frozen their CSTO membership, and has taken steps towards formally withdrawing.

History

After the start of renewed fighting between Armenia and former member Azerbaijan on 13 September 2022, Armenia triggered Article 4 of the treaty, and a CSTO mission including CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas and Anatoly Sidorov was sent to monitor the situation along the border. After the CSTO mission took a rather uncommitted position in the conflict, criticism towards CSTO membership inside Armenian political circles increased, with the secretary of the

Security Council of Armenia The Security Council of Armenia () is the highest decision-making National security council, defence and law enforcement body in the Armenia, Republic of Armenia. The office of the Security Council is located on 24 Baghramyan Avenue, Marshal Baghra ...

Armen Grigoryan Armen Grigoryan (, ) is a singer/songwriter, artist, and the front man (and main songwriter) of " Krematorij" (''Crematorium'') Russian rock-band. Biography Armen Grigoryan was born on November 24, 1960, in Moscow to Armenian parents. During sc ...

, even stating that he saw no more hope for the CSTO. The lack of Russian support during the conflict prompted a national debate in Armenia, as an increasing percentage of the population indicated doubt as to whether it is beneficial to continue CSTO membership, calling for realignment of the state with NATO instead. This coincided with a visit from

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

to Yerevan on 17 September 2022, largely seen as an effort to reorient the security alliance structure of Armenia. To discuss the results of the CSTO mission sent on 15 September 2022, an extraordinary session of the CSTO was held via videoconference on 28 October 2022. With the leaders of all member states and CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas in attendance, the meeting was chaired by Armenian Prime Minister

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

, who concurred with the report presented by the Secretary General while also reiterating the importance for a clear political assessment of Azerbaijani aggression and a roadmap for the restoration of Armenian territorial integrity. A regular Collective Security Council meeting took place on 23 November 2022 with the leaders of all CSTO members present to discuss matters of international and regional security. After Pashinyan refused to sign the joint declaration because it did not "reach a decision on a CSTO response to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

's aggression against Armenia", speculation arose regarding the continuation of the CSTO. Secretary General Stanislas Zas indicated that, though numerous measures in the diplomatic as well as military spheres were generally agreed upon, no consensus regarding the situation on the border could be reached. The diplomatic friction continued into January 2023, after Pashinyan refused to hold common military drills, because the organisation did not unequivocally condemn Azerbaijan over its perceived aggression. In response,

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012.Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He is the longest-serving Russian foreign minister since Andrei Gromyko d ...

offered the deployment of a CSTO mission along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on 2 February 2023 within one or two days, "if our Armenian allies, friends are still interested in it like before". In May 2023, after the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated, the Armenian Prime Minister

said that Armenia could consider withdrawing from the treaty due to the lack of support from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in the conflict. In an interview with CNN broadcast on 1 June 2023, Pashinyan stated that "Armenia is not an ally of Russia in the war in Ukraine". On 3 September 2023, during an interview, Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that it was a strategic mistake for Armenia to solely rely on Russia to guarantee its security. Pashinyan stated, "Moscow has been unable to deliver and is in the process of winding down its role in the wider South Caucasus region" and "the Russian Federation cannot meet Armenia's security needs. This example should demonstrate to us that dependence on just one partner in security matters is a strategic mistake." Pashinyan accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to uphold the ceasefire deal of failing to do their job. Pashinyan confirmed that Armenia is trying to diversify its security arrangements, most notably with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. During the 2023 Armenian protests that began following the

2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh Between 19 and 20 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive against the political status of Nagorno-Karabakh, self-declared breakaway state of Republic of Artsakh, Artsakh, a move seen as a violation of the 2020 Nago ...

, demonstrators surrounded the

Russian embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...

in Yerevan criticizing Russia's refusal to intervene in the offensive. Some protesters called for the rejection of the

Alma-Ata Protocol The Alma-Ata Protocols were the founding declarations and principles of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus had agreed to the Belovezha Accords on 8 December 1991, declaring the Soviet Union ...

, and Armenia's withdrawal from the CSTO. Armenia declined participating in military exercises and the CIS summit in Kyrgyzstan in October 2023 and asked for Russian peacekeeping forces to return to Russia. The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, went further in late October saying he saw "no advantage" in the presence of Russian troops in Armenia. Currently around 10,000 Russian troops are in stationed in

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

Disengagement of membership

On 23 February 2024, Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, confirmed that Armenia has frozen its participation in the CSTO. Pashinyan stated, "We have now in practical terms frozen our participation in this treaty" and "membership of the CSTO was under review" during a live broadcast interview. On 28 February 2024, during a speech made in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, Pashinyan further stated that the CSTO is "a threat to the national security of Armenia". Responding to Pashinyan's remarks, Dmitri Peskov stated that the CSTO charter does not include provisions for a "frozen membership" status. On 12 March, Pashinyan said that the CSTO needed to clarify "what constitutes Armenia's sovereign territory", as the organization had not come to Armenia's defence when requested following Azerbaijani troops crossing the border into Armenia's internationally recognized territory. Pashinyan said that if the CSTO's response did not align with Armenia's expectations, the country would officially withdraw from the organization. On 8 May 2024, Armenia announced it had stopped making financial contributions to the CSTO, leading Russia to state that it was still obligated to pay its membership dues. On 12 June 2024, Armenia announced that it would formally withdraw from the alliance at an unspecified later date, with Pashinyan stating, "We will leave. We will decide when to exit...Don't worry, we won't return". On 14 November 2024, Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ani Badalyan announced that there has been no change in Armenia's stance on freezing its participation in the CSTO. On 4 December 2024, during parliamentary discussions in the National Assembly, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that "we already consider ourselves outside the CSTO" and "I believe we have crossed the point of no return" in regards to Armenia's membership status in the CSTO. On 31 March 2025, Armenia sent notice to CSTO officials that it would neither sign nor comply with the 2024 CSTO budget. Before this notice, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia set a deadline of the end of 2025 for payment of 2024 membership fees, without making specific threats for the effects of non-payment. After Armenia's official notice, a spokesperson for the Russian president's office made assurances that the "CSTO poses no threat" to Armenia.

Public opinion

Several political parties in Armenia actively campaign for the withdrawal of Armenia from the CSTO, most notably the

European Party of Armenia The European Party of Armenia (EPA) () is a Pro-Europeanism, pro-European political party in Armenia. It was founded on 6 November 2018 by Tigran Khzmalyan. The party supports Armenia's Accession of Armenia to the European Union, accession process ...

, For The Republic Party, Conservative Party,

Hanrapetutyun Party The Hanrapetutyun Party () is a pro-European political party in Armenia. The party was founded by ex-members from the Republican Party of Armenia and members of the Yerkrapah Volunteer Union: Aram Sargsyan, Albert Bazeyan, Vagharshak Harutiuny ...

, Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party, Sovereign Armenia Party, Meritocratic Party of Armenia,

National Democratic Pole The National Democratic Alliance () sometimes referred as the National Democratic Pole or the National Democratic Party, is an Armenian political alliance between the Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party, the National Progress Party of Armenia, as ...

, and the United Platform of Democratic Forces. A July 2024 Gallup opinion poll noted a 7% increase in support for Armenia's membership in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, with 29% of respondents believing Armenia should strive for NATO membership. Meanwhile, support for Armenia's membership in the CSTO decreased by 10%, with only 16.9% believing Armenia should maintain its membership in the CSTO.

Bilateral visits

Former CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas visited

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

on 21–23 December 2021 to meet with Armenian Prime Minister

, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Armenian Defense Minister

Suren Papikyan Suren Rafiki Papikyan (; born 26 April 1986) is an Armenian politician currently serving as the Minister of Defense of Armenia. He formerly served as minister of territorial administration and infrastructure and briefly as deputy prime minister ...

and Armenian Security Council Secretary General

. CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov met with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan on 21 December 2023.

Representation

Armenia maintains a

Permanent Mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes a ...

to the CSTO in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia. As of November 2018, Ambassador Viktor Biyagov is the current Head of the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the CSTO. Meanwhile, Mher Shirinyan has been appointed Representative of the

Armed Forces of Armenia The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (, abbreviated ՀՀ ԶՈՒ, ''HH ZU''), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army (), is the national military of Armenia. It consists of personnel branches under the General Staff of the Armenian Arme ...

at the Mission of Armenia to the CSTO.

References