By Alexander Pracht
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced Wednesday that the Moscow-led military alliance known as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will consider taking steps to address Armenia’s refusal to pay membership fees. Yerevan has de facto severed ties with the bloc but formally remains a member.
According to Lavrov, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that Yerevan is not paying fees because it simply does not participate.
“Today we agreed to look into invoking the relevant article of the CSTO charter,” Lavrov said at a meeting between foreign ministers of CSTO member states, without specifying what provisions would be addressed.
Armenia suspended its participation in the CSTO in February 2024. A major trigger was the security bloc’s failure to respond to Azerbaijan’s incursions into Armenia’s internationally recognized territory in September 2022 despite an “attack on one is an attack on all” provision. Later, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described the CSTO as a threat to the country’s national security.
Article 25 of the CSTO charter says that should a member state fail to provide monetary contributions for more than two years, the Collective Security Council may suspend that country’s right to nominate individuals to quota-based positions within the organizations, as well as strip it of voting rights until the debt is cleared.
However, Article 20 provides for a much harsher measure: in the event a member state fails to comply with the charter, the Council may expel that country from the organization altogether.
Also read: Armenia reiterates potential full exit from CSTO alliance
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