Скриншот трансляции
The Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) may make a decision regarding Armenia’s membership at its meeting on November 11. Responding to a question about Armenia’s possible expulsion, CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov told TASS: “If this issue is submitted to a meeting of the Collective Security Council, it could happen.”
“A proposal is usually submitted either by the country holding the chairmanship or by another country — that is, by a head of state or a member of the Collective Security Council. What is happening de facto can be considered under Article 25 of the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which stipulates that when membership fees are not paid and quota positions are not filled, there is no right to vote.
“Apparently, Armenia does not discuss these matters. Apparently, it does not participate. But Armenia’s representative attends the weekly meetings of the Permanent Council, where the permanent representatives of CSTO member states sit. The Armenian representative listens and presumably reports back to their capital on what we discuss, what decisions are made and, moreover, all the issues we consider and the possible decisions,” he said.
According to Masadykov, Armenia can be considered to have de facto withdrawn from the organization.
“We send documents for domestic approval. We send them to everyone, including Armenia. On every issue, we receive a response that the Armenian side does not participate in the discussion or decision-making on that issue but does not object to decisions being adopted in a limited format. In other words, they do not obstruct our work; the work continues and we make decisions. They listen to the weekly briefings but do not take part in our main activities, exercises and so on. So I think Article 25 applies here. In principle, they have already withdrawn de facto,” he said.
It should be recalled that Armenia has officially frozen its participation in the CSTO. The decision followed the organization’s response to an escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan several years ago, which Yerevan considered inadequate. In August this year, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he would welcome a CSTO decision to expel his country, as it would spare the Armenian authorities the dilemma of whether or not to withdraw from the organization.