Nikol Pashinyan considers  "freezing" of membership in the CSTO a  sufficient step and sees no complaints about the activities of the  102nd RMB

ArmInfo. Armenia has suspended its participation in the CSTO at all levels. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated this during a press conference in Yerevan on August 31, in response to a question about why Yerevan has not withdrawn from the CSTO.  

Recall that in February 2024, Nikol 
Pashinyan stated in an interview with France 24 that Armenia's participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) had been frozen. On March 12, 2024, Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia would withdraw from the CSTO if the organization failed to fulfill its obligations. Currently, Armenia is not involve in any capacity within the Organization. In May of this year, Ani Badalyan, the press secretary of the RA MFA, stated that Yerevan would refrain from joining the decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council of November 23, 2023 "On the CSTO budget for 2024" and from participating in the financing of the Organization's activities provided for by this decision. And Moscow emphasized that Yerevan's financial responsibilities will remain unchanged.

"At this stage, we consider this decision sufficient and do not see the need to make another decision. But this does not mean that we will not make another decision in the future" Pashinyan said.  When asked once again about when Armenia will withdraw from the CSTO and what will happen to the 102nd Russian military base in the country, Pashinyan, in particular, noted: "I cannot specify the date and time of withdrawal from the CSTO. There are currently no issues regarding the presence of the 102nd Russian military base (RMB) in Armenia." In this regard, he also drew attention to the fact that, for instance, at Yerevan Zvartnots airport, Armenian border guards now handle all border control duties after the withdrawal of Russian border guards (August 1 of this year - ed.). We must state that the Armenian border guards provide a comprehensive range of services at Zvartnots airport. As far as I understand, we expressed gratitude to the Russian border guards for their years of service and noted that we are fully capable of handling it ourselves. This is not a trivial matter for the Russian Federation. And who is to say that Russia's capabilities are boundless, given the current situation? This is not a confrontation, but rather a cooperation," he said.

Pashinyan added that Armenia also thanked Russia for its presence along the entire perimeter of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.  The Armenian Prime Minister emphasized that he does not see relations with Russia as confrontational. In response to concerns about tensions increasing as the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty approaches, Pashinyan stated that the relationship is based on cooperation and mutual respect. Pashinyan called it unacceptable to talk about any state in the language of insults, with sarcasm, especially when it comes to a country like Russia. He also did not agree that Russia could impose sanctions on Armenia if Yerevan signs a peace agreement with Baku. According to him, he does not see a reason for such action.