Photo: Nikol Pashinyan
< p>Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced his intention to withdraw the country from the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), amid increasing tensions between the two allies.
According to Pashinyan, his The government will later decide on the timing of withdrawal from the CSTO, which, in addition to Armenia and Russia, also includes the Central Asian states: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, reports Associated Press agency.
Against the backdrop of a growing rift with Russia, Armenia previously froze its participation in the alliance, canceled participation in joint military exercises and skipped CSTO summits.
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday 12 June, Pashinyan for the first time announced that Armenia would completely withdraw from the CSTO. According to him, the government will later decide when to take the final step.
"We will come out, – Pashinyan said. – We will decide when to leave. We will not return, we have no other way.”.
Prepared by: Sergey Daga