Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Viktor Vasilyev, has said there is no conflict between Armenia and the organization, adding that CSTO leaders may discuss Armenia’s non-payment of membership contributions at their November meeting.
According to Vasilyev, the next session of the CSTO Collective Security Council is scheduled for November 11 in Moscow. He said the leaders of member states are likely to consider the issue of Armenia’s unpaid contributions to the organization’s budget. If necessary, any decision would be adopted by consensus, RIA Novosti reported.
Vasilyev recalled that Article 25 of the CSTO Charter provides that if a member state fails to meet its financial obligations to the organization’s budget for two years, its right to nominate candidates for quota-based positions and to vote in CSTO bodies may be suspended. He said this situation already exists in practice, as Armenia no longer nominates representatives to the CSTO Secretariat and has withdrawn its personnel from the Joint Staff.
Commenting on relations between Armenia and the CSTO, Vasilyev said: “There is no ‘conflict’ between Armenia and the CSTO. It is fundamentally incorrect to claim that such a conflict has existed since 2021.”
He also stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was outside the CSTO’s mandate and that Yerevan was aware of this.
The Russian representative also commented on cooperation between Armenia and NATO, saying Moscow has observed attempts by NATO and certain Western countries to “pull” Armenia away from its CSTO allies, including through joint military exercises. In his view, such an approach does not serve Armenia’s long-term security and sovereignty interests.
Vasilyev added that Russia is interested in maintaining friendly relations with Armenia, emphasizing that historical ties between the two peoples have developed over centuries.
Armenia froze its participation in the CSTO in 2024. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has previously said that in 2021–2022 Armenia’s allies failed to fulfill their obligations under the Collective Security Treaty.
On June 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that because Armenia had not paid its membership contributions, the CSTO would consider applying the provision of its charter governing measures against member states that fail to meet their obligations.
