Simonyan Says Armenia Has “De Facto” Left CSTO, Despite No Formal Withdrawal

Speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly Alen Simonyan stated that the country has in practice already exited the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Orda.kz reports, citing NewsArmenia.AM.

In fact, we have already left. As for the rest, leave it to our political expediency, Simonyan told reporters when asked why Armenia still has not formally withdrawn from the bloc.

Let’s step away from labels. If you join an organization — for example, a union of journalists or a union of butchers — and that organization fails to fulfill its duties and you want to leave it, does that make you anti-journalist?
 he said.

However, on the same day, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan said that a formal withdrawal is not currently on the agenda, indicating that the issue is not under discussion at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Armenia is not participating in the CSTO summit taking place in Bishkek on November 26–27. Ahead of the meeting, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov commented that Armenian officials had informed Moscow they do not object to the adoption of agreed documents in their absence.

The agenda of the Bishkek summit includes the signing of nearly 20 documents, covering both military cooperation and joint efforts to combat narcotics trafficking.

Armenia has abstained from other CSTO-related events in the past, signalling its ongoing membership freeze.

In February 2024, Armenia suspended its participation in the CSTO and later stopped paying membership dues, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arguing that the bloc failed to meet its security obligations during Azerbaijan's incursions in 2021–2022 and now poses risks to Armenia’s sovereignty and statehood.