Armenia may have a debt on contributions to the CSTO and not pay it for two years, now there is a debt for 2024, the period will expire at the end of 2025, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told RIA Novosti on the margins of the XVII Verona Eurasian Economic Forum.
In February 2024, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the republic had frozen its participation in the CSTO. Armenia stopped contributing to the organization's budget and sending representatives to the organization's events and exercises.
Pashinyan also said that Armenia's return to the CSTO is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible. According to him, the “point of no return” has been passed.
The session of the CSTO Collective Security Council was held in Kazakhstan on November 28, Armenia did not participate in the event. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said earlier that Armenia still remains a full member of the organization and reserves all rights and obligations.
“For two years Armenia may not pay this debt. Further, appropriate decisions will be made,” Pankin said, noting that the country is currently in arrears for 2024.
He added that “in fact, Armenia's debt is not something supernatural.”
“It was politically loudly announced. Any of the CSTO members can accumulate debts. There were cases when other countries owed debts as well,” Pankin concluded.
The CSTO consists of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstan will chair the CSTO from January 1, 2024, and in 2025 the chairmanship will pass to Kyrgyzstan.
Reprinted from https://ria.ru/
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