Mirzoyan confirms Armenia has no plans to resume participation in CSTO

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told reporters on October 28, 2026, that Yerevan would not change its position or resume participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization. RIA Novosti reported his remarks the same day.

The minister was responding to a proposal by former CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha to expel Armenia. Bordyuzha argued that although the country does not participate in the organization's work, decisions still have to be coordinated with it. He called on Yerevan to leave voluntarily and advocated expelling the country if it refused.

According to an October 28 report by Rosbalt, Armenia has not formally withdrawn from the CSTO. It remains one of the organization's six members, alongside Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. However, the organization's Charter makes no provision for the “freezing of membership,” the term Armenian authorities use to describe their position.

Article 19 of the Charter allows a state to withdraw voluntarily from the CSTO after settling its obligations. The country must submit formal notice at least six months before its intended withdrawal. Article 20 sets out another mechanism, allowing the Collective Security Council to suspend a state's participation in the organization's bodies if it fails to meet its obligations.

CSTO leaders are due to meet in Moscow on November 11, 2026. The publication suggests they may discuss Armenia's continued membership.

Yerevan's disagreements with the organization stem from events on the border with Azerbaijan in 2021–2022. Armenia's leadership believes the CSTO failed to meet its obligations to ensure the country's security and did not respond as it should have to violations of its sovereign territory. Armenian authorities had expected their allies to activate collective security mechanisms and considered the support they received insufficient.

In February 2024, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia had effectively frozen its participation in the CSTO. Armenia stopped taking part in the bloc's main events and military exercises. The country also stopped paying membership dues.