YEREVAN, November 15. /TASS/. Yerevan, which does not participate in CSTO events, is not preparing to withdraw from the organization, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

"We have made a decision not to participate in these CSTO events for various reasons. I am not preparing the ground for anything, this ground is either there or it is not," he said at a government session in the parliament in response to a question from an opposition lawmaker about possible preparations for withdrawal from the CSTO.

According to the prime minister, Yerevan considers "the CSTO's refusal to assert its zone of responsibility in the country" as a fundamental problem.

"The biggest fundamental problem is that the CSTO, in fact, refuses to assert its zone of responsibility in Armenia. If we silently participate in these conditions [in CSTO events], we can follow the logic according to which Armenia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are questioned. We reserve time for us and the CSTO for consideration," he pointed out.

Earlier, Pashinyan and Armenian diplomats repeatedly stated that Yerevan was not currently considering the possibility of leaving the CSTO, but Armenia's representatives have not participated in the organization's events in recent months. Armenia has also withdrawn its representative from the CSTO.