YEREVAN, March 5. /TASS/. Armenia has not yet withdrawn from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the possible consequences of the withdrawal constitute top secret information, Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Edvard Asryan said at a briefing.
"We have not yet left the CSTO, the follow-up to your question contains classified information," he said, replying to a question by a journalist about the possible consequences of withdrawing from the CSTO. He also said that joint army structures with the CSTO exist "on paper."
The military official also refused to comment on the issues of Russian arms supplies, noting that this process also constitutes top secret information.
Recently, the Armenian authorities have repeatedly criticized Russia with Yerevan skipping meetings in some integration formats. In particular, the country’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not attend the CSTO summit in Minsk and also said that the republic had suspended its participation in the organization.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the dynamics of Yerevan’s participation in CSTO events had decreased which does not correspond to the interests of friendly Armenian people. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted, Moscow hopes to receive a response from Yerevan with regard to fulfilling obligations and participation in joint integration structures, including the CSTO. That said, he stressed that statements by Yerevan about the erroneous nature of its initial policy course toward a rapprochement with Russia may trigger a substantial reconsideration of bilateral ties.