Russia has proposed that the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) consider applying one of its charter articles to Armenia amid Yerevan's accumulated debt to the bloc's budget, infohub.kz reports.
CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov told journalists that the Collective Security Council could examine applying Article 25 of the charter to Armenia. Under that provision, if member states fail to meet their obligations to repay debt to the organization's budget for two years, the Council decides to suspend the right of that state's citizens to be nominated for quota positions within the organization and to strip it of voting rights in the organization's bodies until the debt is fully repaid.
Earlier, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said Yerevan saw no possibility of returning to the CSTO.
Before that, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the country was not afraid of being expelled from the CSTO. He explained Yerevan's position by referring to the plot of an Armenian fairy tale about Kikos.
Pashinyan also said that Armenia would soon begin the process of applying for membership in the European Union. Later, the head of the Armenian government allowed for the country's expulsion from the CSTO and noted that in such a case Yerevan would not have to decide on withdrawing from the organization itself.