CSTO Secretary General on Reports of Armenia Exiting the Organization

Despite some concerns arising from the positions of certain factions within the Armenian elite, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) expects that Armenia's political leadership will adopt a reasonable approach. This was stated by CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov in an interview with TASS.

“I will not hide that certain events and sentiments among Armenia's elites are worrying. However, we are anticipating the political sobriety of Armenia's political leadership and a balanced assessment of the prospects for the implementation of various scenarios regarding the organization. I would like to emphasize that Armenia remains our ally, and all existing commitments remain in force,” Tasmagambetov said when asked whether any statements were expected from Yerevan regarding the suspension of its participation in the organization.

Speaking about the organization’s activities as a whole, Tasmagambetov highlighted that the CSTO traditionally pays special attention to the “peacekeeping path.” “I would like to remind you that CSTO peacekeeping forces successfully demonstrated their capabilities during the stabilization of the situation in Kazakhstan in January 2022. However, the CSTO is also aimed at expanding participation in peacekeeping initiatives outside the organization’s area of responsibility,” Tasmagambetov added.