If Armenia previously accused the CSTO of a failure to fulfill its alliance obligations, this time Mr. Pashinyan stated for the first time that it poses a threat to the national security of the republic, Kommersant writes.
In addition, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné visited Yerevan a few days ago. He stated that Paris is ready to contribute to the rapprochement of Armenia with the EU in the future. However, the geopolitical situation of the region may hinder these plans, Alexey Naumov, an expert of the Russian International Relations Council, said. “We can see how Mr. Pashinyan wants to take this line: there will be no partnership in security and defense issues, but economic cooperation will continue. I do not think that this line will be supported by Moscow, considering the almost overwhelming dependence of Armenia’s economy on cooperation with Russia. In addition, security issues are extremely important for Russia. I think its patience is being tried now. The red line for Moscow will be either Armenia’s formal withdrawal from the CSTO, or its decision to withdraw the Russian border guards from the border of Armenia, as well as from the military base located in Gyumri,” Naumov noted. Commenting on the EU membership plans, the expert noted that it is completely unrealistic.
“This line, which aims to make the republic a kind of outpost of the West in the South Caucasus and a tool to put pressure on Azerbaijan, Russia and partially Georgia, will still be unsuccessful. Of course, the EU, being interested, is capable of making certain gestures. It can provide limited support, including financial, and make beautiful promises, but all these limits were well shown by the example of Georgia,” Naumov noted.
