Armenia was once Russia's ward in the Caucasus. Now Yerevan is distancing itself more and more from Moscow – and calls an alliance led by the Kremlin a threat.
The head of government of Armenia in the South Caucasus, Nikol Pashinyan, has renewed and increased criticism of the Russian-led military alliance Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). “We froze our membership in the CSTO not only because the CSTO is not fulfilling its obligations to ensure the security of Armenia, but also because the CSTO creates threats to the security, continued existence and statehood of Armenia,” Pashinyan told the Armenian According to Armenpress news agency.
In February, Armenia froze its membership in the alliance after its defeat by Azerbaijan in the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and against the backdrop of increasing tensions with Russia. According to Pashinyan, the conflict with the CSTO has been simmering for two years. At that time, questions were asked about Armenia's security, to which the alliance has still not given an answer. The longer the silence lasts, the further Armenia will move away from the military alliance. Pashinyan described the likelihood of a final departure as high.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia was one of the co-founders of the military alliance launched in 1992 under Moscow's leadership. Russia has long been considered Armenia's protective power in the Caucasus – including in the conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan. After the more Western-oriented Pashinyan came to power, relations cooled.
In the two armed clashes that broke out between Yerevan and Baku over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Russia remained passive – despite a Russian security force stationed in the area. Finally, last fall, the population of Nagorno-Karabakh – more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians – was forced to flee the region after fierce attacks by Azerbaijani troops. At that time, Russian troops were busy occupying Ukrainian territories.
In June, Armenia and CSTO member Belarus recalled each other's ambassadors. The anger was triggered by the fact that, according to the Armenian interpretation, the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko supported Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. During talks with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, Lukashenko said that the two had met before the war over Nagorno-Karabakh. “At that time we discussed it philosophically over lunch and came to the conclusion that this war could be won.” It is necessary to keep this victory now, said Lukashenko. In this context he spoke of a war of liberation.
