Armenia’s decision to withdraw from the CSTO indicates the reorientation of the country toward the West. This line has been pursued by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan since he came to power, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma for the CIS and Relations with Russian Nationals Abroad Konstantin Zatulin told Gazeta.ru.
“He has been going his own way, which is quite obvious. Although all the signs of the reorientation of the Armenian authorities appeared publicly in 2022, I believe that Nikol Pashinyan coming to power was originally inspired by ideas of reorienting Armenia toward the West, including the Nagorno-Karabakh war, which Pashinyan lost showily, while placing the responsibility for the fate of Karabakh and the people of Karabakh on Russia,” Zatulin noted.
According to the deputy, Russia has lost a lot by trying not to pay attention to Pashinyan’s policy and continuing to believe in the possibility of cooperation, which has been taken as a weakness by Russia.
“Until now, the official line of Russia has been to show complete non-interference in what is happening in Armenia, to avoid the activation of relations with the Armenian opposition, and not to notice all this in the hope that it will be appreciated. In my opinion, thus we have not gained anything, but we have only lost,” Zatulin concluded.
