Pashinyan's response to Putin: 'Armenia has passed the point of no return’
Pashinyan-Putin remote exchange
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s remarks regarding Russia’s allied obligations. Justifying the inaction of the CSTO military bloc, led by Russia, Putin stated that allies could not intervene during the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 because “Armenia did not recognize Karabakh as an independent state, nor did it include Karabakh within its borders.”
Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia did not seek assistance from its strategic ally, Russia, or the CSTO, of which it is a member, concerning the Karabakh issue. The Prime Minister reminded that Armenia requested help to defend its sovereign territory against incursions by Azerbaijani forces between May 2021 and September 2022.
“With all due respect to the President of Russia—we are partners and work together—but this statement reflects the general [unconstructive] situation within the CSTO,” Pashinyan said.
Putin expressed hope that “Armenia will return to full-scale work within the organization.” However, Pashinyan declared that irreversible processes have already occurred, and there will be no turning back.
This has reignited debates in the Armenian segment of social media. Many are urging the Prime Minister to stop discussing leaving the CSTO and take concrete steps. Others, however, caution against abrupt actions due to potential consequences, particularly retaliatory measures from Russia.
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Pashinyan: ‘We already consider ourselves outside CSTO’
According to Pashinyan, CSTO allies assured Armenia that its borders were a red line that no one could cross. However, when Armenian territory was invaded, the CSTO responded, “You see, the border doesn’t seem to have been delimited.”
The Armenian Prime Minister has repeatedly stated that he expected allies to provide at least a political assessment of the situation if not direct assistance. He expressed outrage that the CSTO partners failed to even define the bloc’s zone of responsibility:
“My public reaction was this: if the CSTO has no zone of responsibility in Armenia and cannot define it, then the CSTO as an organization does not exist. That’s why I refused to sign the final document of the CSTO summit in the fall of 2022. The situation around Karabakh has nothing to do with this. In the context of suspending Armenia’s participation in the CSTO, we never even touched on the issue of Karabakh.”
Pashinyan further stated that Armenia no longer considers itself a member of the CSTO:
“We simply don’t exercise our veto rights on any documents. Essentially, we already consider ourselves outside the CSTO. Let them make whatever decisions they want. We don’t interfere in their affairs out of respect for our partners. But once again, the discrepancy between these events and their public commentary makes Armenia’s return to the CSTO increasingly difficult, if not impossible. I believe we have passed the point of no return.”
Putin: ‘There is a possibility Armenia will return’
“Everything that happened had nothing to do with the CSTO because there was no external aggression against Armenia itself. The CSTO is designed to protect member states from external aggression. The events related to Karabakh have their own specifics. Legally, everything that happened in Karabakh has no direct connection to Armenia, so expecting the CSTO to fight on the territory of this enclave seems rather odd,” Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at the CSTO summit in Astana.
Putin made no mention of the escalations or the incursions by Azerbaijani forces into Armenia’s sovereign territory. During the summit, which Armenia’s leadership chose not to attend, the Russian president only addressed Armenia’s decision to suspend its CSTO membership, omitting the reasons behind it:
“Each country has the right to choose how it wants to ensure its security. We will respect that. Armenia has not yet declared its withdrawal from the organization but has stated that it is taking a pause. And it supports all the documents adopted during today’s meeting and in the negotiation process. If that’s the case, there is a possibility that Armenia will return to full-scale work within this organization. We’ll see.”
Social media responses
“What does it mean that we ‘consider ourselves outside the CSTO’? We need to officially announce our withdrawal from this organization.”
“Officially notify the CSTO and leave the bloc [addressed to Pashinyan]. Or are you waiting for them to expel Armenia so you can claim you’re not to blame?”
“Armenia outside the CSTO means Armenia turning into Syria. The Turks took Aleppo, with its population of four million, in just one day. Armenia will face the same fate.”
“Soon, we’ll have no gas, electricity, or wheat. Goods exported from Armenia to Russia will remain here. The country faces catastrophe. God forbid the Russian army leaves—there will be nothing left of Armenia but its name. I hope the people wake up (we have no opposition), rise, and change the government.”
“For over 100 years, Russia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan have declared Armenia their strategic enemy as part of their joint national security concept. It’s time to flush the CIS, the EAEU, and the CSTO [Russian-led integration structures of which Armenia is a member] down the toilet.”
Pashinyan-Putin remote exchange
