Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the country's membership in the pro-Russian military bloc, the CSTO, limited its access to international arms markets.
"The global defense arms market opened up for Armenia after 2022, after the recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, after it became clear that concerns about Armenia deploying weapons outside its sovereign territory had disappeared," Pashinyan said at a meeting with the ambassadors of the United States and the European Union.
Furthermore, according to the Prime Minister, Armenia paid for hundreds of millions of dollars in arms supplies from Russia in 2022, but they were not delivered. This led Yerevan to decide to freeze its participation in the organization.
Pashinyan also noted that Armenia will remain in the EAEU as long as it is compatible with its relations with the EU and will make decisions in accordance with the will of the people should incompatibility arise.
Previously, Nikol Pashinyan spoke not only about the freeze but also about the high probability of Armenia's withdrawal from the CSTO. He noted that Armenia suspended its participation in the organization because, in his view, it poses threats to the country's security and existence.
