On March 12, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a press conference, in which he mentioned the current relations between Yerevan and the European Union (EU) as well as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
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| Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has warned that he may withdraw from the CTSO, while appearing to be increasingly close to the EU. |
Closer to EU
Armenia's NEWS news agency quoted Mr. Pashinyan as saying that the current relations between the country and the EU are very positive and Yerevan is "ready to be as close as possible" to the European bloc.
Expressing hope that the two sides will make some decisions that demonstrate that strong relationship in the near future, the Armenian Prime Minister suggested "starting negotiations on visa liberalization", followed by providing preferential trade conditions for goods from the Caucasus country and strengthening EU-Yerevan economic relations.
He also mentioned strengthening cooperation in the security field, including the 27-member alliance's capacity building and extension of the mandate of the civilian mission in Armenia.
The current EU mission is due to run for two years from February 2023 and Yerevan hopes the bloc can extend it for another two years.
On February 20, 2023, the bloc announced the deployment of a civilian mission operating in the Armenian-Azerbaijani border area on the Armenian side, aiming to promote stability and facilitate the normalization of relations between the two countries.
The mission initially consisted of nearly 100 civilian staff, including about 50 unarmed observers. By December 2023, EU foreign ministers had agreed to increase the number of staff to 209.
Earlier, on March 9 this year, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that the country's government was discussing "many new opportunities", including joining the EU.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow considers the EU's desire to "get a foothold" in Armenia to be purely geopolitical, "far from the interests of genuine normalization of relations" in the region.
According to the ministry, this is being done to "push Russia out of the region and undermine Moscow's historical role as the main security guarantor".
Warning of possible withdrawal from CTSO
Since taking power in Armenia in 2018, Prime Minister Pashinyan has strengthened relations between the country and Europe and the United States, repeatedly upsetting traditional ally Russia, Reuters reported.
He accused Moscow of seeking to undermine the Caucasus national government and blamed Russia for failing to protect Armenia from its long-time rival Azerbaijan.
In early February, Pashinyan announced the suspension of Armenia's activities in the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and has not attended a series of recent meetings of the organization. The leader also did not attend the CSTO Summit in Minsk, Belarus, in November 2023.
According to NEWS , at a press conference on March 12, Prime Minister Pashinyan confirmed that, in fact, Yerevan has "suspended participation in the CSTO", meaning it does not participate in the organization's meetings, nor does it have a representative there.
Asking the CSTO and its partners in the organization to answer the question "What is the sphere of responsibility of the CSTO in Armenia?", the leader asserted that his country " does not create problems in the CSTO, they appear when Yerevan raises the issue of the sphere of responsibility".
Affirming that he has not received an answer to this question, Mr. Pashinyan emphasized that if the CSTO has an answer corresponding to Yerevan's point of view, the problem between them will be resolved, "otherwise, Armenia will leave the organization".
Regarding the problems related to Armenia, on the same day, TASS quoted CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov confirming that Yerevan has not recently participated in the work of the CSTO Secretariat, but there has been no official request to suspend the Caucasus country's membership in the organization.
Besides, Mr. Tasmagambetov emphasized: "Armenia remains our ally and all existing obligations remain in force."
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