Putin originally founded the CSTO as a rival to NATO, although almost none of the member states had mighty armies or strong economies, Business Insider writes.
However, the plan appears to have backfired as tensions among the bloc have grown, especially as Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Pashinyan’s latest statement about the country’s possible withdrawal from the CSTO probably came as a serious blow to Putin. Professor Peter Frankopan said that although the other CSTO countries will probably “shrug their shoulders”, Moscow will eventually give a stronger response to “show the negative sides of daring to confront Russia”.
According to the expert, the latest developments may not end with Armenia’s exit from the CSTO. However, it will take a long time to leave the organization. Referring to the improvement of relations between Armenia and Russia, Fox News noted that Russia tried to maintain close relations with Armenia, while having warm ties with Azerbaijan and its closest ally Turkey, which is an important economic partner for Moscow amid Western sanctions. The Kremlin is angry with Pashinyan’s efforts to deepen ties with the West and remove his country from alliances led by Moscow. However, Russia is trying to settle the disagreements, because it is focused on the Ukrainian war, which has been going on for three years now. The article also says that Pashinyan’s announcement on leaving the CSTO came at a time when he is facing a large wave of protests demanding his resignation. Fox News noted that “violent clashes broke out” between the police and the protesters the other day, as a result of which about 100 people were injured, with at least 10 journalists among them.
