Armenia exposed coup attempt, CSTO poses threats to country's sovereignty, Pashinyan says

Photo: Nikol Pashinyan/ua.depositphotos.com

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) poses threats to the security, existence and sovereignty of Armenia.

This was stated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Second World Armenian Summit.

— We have frozen our participation not only because the CSTO is not fulfilling its defense obligations to Armenia, but also because, in our opinion, the CSTO poses threats to the security, existence, sovereignty and statehood of Armenia,— he said.

On Wednesday, September 18, the country's Investigative Committee reported the exposure of an attempted armed coup in the country.

Armenia's National Security Service has identified seven suspects. Three people have been detained and four others have been placed on the wanted list.

The defendants recruited several Armenians and residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, promising to pay them $2,400 a month.

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The recruits were sent to Rostov-on-Don, Russia, for three months of training. The training was aimed at “familiarization with new types of heavy weapons, acquiring skills in their use and carrying out combat duty” upon returning to Armenia.

In Russia, the recruits underwent a polygraph test to determine their personal characteristics, political views, and connections to Armenian law enforcement agencies.

After the test, the individuals were placed at the Arbat military base, where they were taught how to conduct combat operations in closed spaces.

The group members were told that the purpose of the training was to return to Armenia and remove its current government. After that, some of the recruits refused to participate in the coup and returned to Armenia.

Other members of the group did not complete the crime, as they were exposed by law enforcement officers.

BAGNET recalls that on September 1, Armenia froze its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at all levels.

Back in February, Pashinyan said that the CSTO had not fulfilled its obligations to Yerevan.

The military-political bloc includes six countries: Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga