Lavrov: Even if Armenia is deprived of its voting rights in the CSTO, Yerevan will retain its right to collective security

CSTO member states have discussed Armenia's failure to pay its dues to the organization, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated.

"We were forced to discuss the issue of Armenia's non-compliance with its obligations under the CSTO Charter regarding annual contributions to the budget of our common organization," Lavrov said.

According to him, CSTO countries will consider the issue of stripping Armenia of its voting rights within the organization on Wednesday.

"The draft decision in question (regarding the application of Article 25 of the CSTO Charter to Armenia - ed.) provides for the suspension of the right to nominate Armenian citizens to quota-based positions within the organization's bodies and the deprivation of voting rights until the debt is fully paid off. This draft decision will also be considered tomorrow at the session of the Collective Security Council," Lavrov said.

He added that even if Armenia is deprived of its voting rights in the CSTO, Yerevan will retain all fundamental rights under the Collective Security Treaty, including the right to collective security itself.