Armenia has been stripped of its voting rights in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) after failing to pay membership dues for more than two years, marking another significant development in the deteriorating relationship between Yerevan and Moscow.
The decision was adopted Wednesday during a CSTO summit in Moscow chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the organization’s leaders had approved the suspension of Armenia’s voting rights in accordance with the alliance’s charter.
In addition to losing its voting privileges, Armenia will no longer be permitted to nominate representatives for designated leadership and administrative positions within the organization until its outstanding financial obligations are settled.
The decision was taken under Article 25 of the CSTO Charter, which provides for restrictions against member states that fail to fulfill their financial commitments.
Armenia’s Growing Estrangement from the CSTO
Armenia’s relationship with the military alliance has deteriorated considerably in recent years, particularly following Azerbaijan’s military incursions into Armenia’s sovereign territory in 2022 and the subsequent forced displacement of the Armenian population of Artsakh in September 2023.
Yerevan has repeatedly criticized the CSTO for failing to provide meaningful assistance in response to Azerbaijani military aggression and for refusing to formally condemn Azerbaijan’s occupation of internationally recognized Armenian territory.
In February 2024, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia was freezing its participation in the organization. The government subsequently stopped paying membership dues and declined to participate in CSTO meetings and military exercises.
More recently, Pashinyan declared that Armenia’s interests within the CSTO had been exhausted, while indicating that his government would not oppose a decision by the alliance to expel Armenia.
Despite these declarations, Armenia has not formally withdrawn from the organization.
Moscow Rules Out Expulsion
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized Tuesday that Moscow had no intention of forcing Armenia out of the military alliance.
Lavrov stated that Armenia would retain its fundamental rights under the Collective Security Treaty, including its right to collective defense, despite the suspension of its voting privileges.
CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov likewise confirmed that Armenia’s expulsion had not been discussed at the Moscow summit.
The alliance has maintained that Armenia remains a member and could regain its suspended privileges upon satisfying its outstanding financial obligations.
The CSTO currently consists of Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Uncertain Future for Armenia’s Security Alignment
Wednesday’s decision further underscores the unresolved status of Armenia’s relationship with the Russian-led security alliance.
While the Pashinyan government has increasingly sought closer political and security cooperation with Western countries, it has stopped short of formally terminating Armenia’s membership in the CSTO.
The resulting situation leaves Armenia officially within an alliance whose activities it no longer participates in and whose effectiveness it has repeatedly questioned.
The suspension of voting rights also highlights the widening divide between Yerevan and Moscow, once Armenia’s principal military and security partner.
As of Wednesday, Armenia’s government had not issued an immediate official response to the decision.
For now, Armenia remains a CSTO member on paper, but without voting rights or active participation in the organization’s decision-making processes, leaving the future of its membership increasingly uncertain.
