The CSTO is a military alliance that currently includes: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. It was established in October 2002.
The Prime Minister of Armenia announced on Wednesday that his country would withdraw from the organization. This was in response to an opposition lawmaker’s remark that although Pashinyan has repeatedly criticized the CSTO, he has not yet left it.
– what do you think? What will be the next step? Do you think we will come back? Pashinyan announced: No, there is no other option. Do not worry, we will not return.
Relations are tense between Armenia and the CSTO
Armenia has moved away from the CSTO since last year. In 2023, the country boycotted high-level meetings, military exercises and other activities of the organization. Pashinyan himself described this as a suspension of membership.
The Armenian government also announced that it would stop making payments to the CSTO.
These decisions are a result of the events of 2022. At that time, Armenia requested support from Russia and other member states after Azerbaijan began its offensive actions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Armenian government believes that this request has been ignored, but Moscow has a different opinion.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh
The period of fragile peace in Nagorno-Karabakh, which had existed since 1994 but was often punctuated by sporadic armed clashes, ended in September 2020.
Azerbaijan then tried to regain control of the breakaway region. After six weeks of fighting, during which Baku gained significant advantages and territorial gains with Turkey’s support, an Armenian-Azerbaijani-Russian peace agreement was signed on the night of November 9-10, 2020.
Accordingly, a ceasefire was reached and the so-called Russian forces were introduced into the disputed area. Peacekeepers who were scheduled to remain there for at least five years. The size of this unit was about 2000 soldiers.
Three years later, on September 19-20, 2023, Azerbaijan carried out a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, which came as a surprise to the Armenian side. After the Azerbaijani armed forces took control of the enclave, the Karabakh authorities announced the end of the existence of the unrecognized republic on January 1, 2024.
Within about a week, at the end of September, almost the entire population had left the breakaway zone. Previously, the authorities in Yerevan estimated the population of Nagorno-Karabakh at about 120,000 people.
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