In a major shift for Armenia CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) relations, the alliance decided at its Moscow summit to strip Armenia of its voting rights and quotas for leadership posts within the organization. The formal reason cited was chronic non-payment of membership dues. Armenia has already officially frozen its participation in the alliance. In essence, this decision by the five CSTO presidents did Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan a diplomatic favor, sparing him the need to be the first to slam the door.
Armenian representatives did not attend the Council session and their seats remained empty. Pashinyan himself is on a working visit to Ireland, attending the 9th European Political Community Summit in Dublin.
Timeline of the Armenia CSTO Rift
NEWSROOM IN notes that the dispute between CSTO allies and Armenia had been brewing for several years. Following renewed escalation in Karabakh, Yerevan accused the organization of inaction and froze its practical participation in the pact. In August 2026, Nikol Pashinyan publicly stated that he would be “very glad” if the organization itself chose to expel the republic.
According to CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov, the question of Armenia’s full expulsion was not even raised at the November summit.
The European Vector
Photo: Nikol Pashinyan / Նիկոլ Փաշինյան
In May 2026, the presidents of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan issued a joint statement urging Armenia to hold a referendum as quickly as possible, stating that its push toward the EU posed “significant risks to economic security” for EAEU member nations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also said that simultaneous membership in the EAEU and the EU is impossible: “By and large, we will be forced to wind down practically all of our work, in this case with Armenia, in the economic sphere regarding integration processes [in the EAEU].”
In August, following parliamentary elections won by his party, the prime minister announced that Armenia would soon begin the formal application process for European Union membership.
Judging by his recent social media posts, the Armenian prime minister appears far more at ease with European leaders than with his CSTO allies. Ahead of his trip to Dublin for the informal European summit, Pashinyan shared several lighthearted videos, showing little concern over having lost his voting rights in Moscow.
