Armenia's prime minister says his country's interest in the Russian-led CSTO military alliance is exhausted, and Yerevan now plans to apply for European...
Armenia's prime minister says his country's interest in the Russian-led CSTO military alliance is exhausted, and Yerevan now plans to apply for European Union membership in 2027 or 2028.
Nikol Pashinyan said at a briefing in Yerevan today that Armenia is not leaving the Eurasian Economic Union immediately, but the direction is set: the CSTO, he said, has nothing left to offer Armenia.
The break has been building since 2024, when Armenia froze its CSTO participation after the alliance failed to come to its aid in the 2022 war with Azerbaijan. Pashinyan even said he would welcome expulsion, since it would settle the question of whether to withdraw.
The timing matters for the whole South Caucasus. Pashinyan is due in Antalya, Türkiye, for the COP31 climate summit, and Armenia's normalisation with Türkiye and Azerbaijan is moving in parallel with its walk away from Moscow.
The CSTO meets on November 11, with Armenia's voting rights on the agenda. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, both CSTO members, will be watching what Yerevan does next.
#TurkicWorld