Armenia warned of leaving the military alliance led by Russia, Moscow spoke up

Russia spoke out after Armenia warned of withdrawing from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) led by Moscow

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on March 12 at a press conference that the country will leave the CSTO if the military alliance fails to resolve Armenia's collective security concerns.

"If the CSTO answers the question about its area of ​​responsibility in Armenia, and this answer is consistent with our vision, then we will consider the problem between us resolved. If no, Armenia will leave the CSTO," Mr. Pashinyan said.

On March 13, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that he was aware of Mr. Pashinyan's warning. "Of course, Russia has heard these statements. It is clear that there is a lot of work to be done now. We need to contact both the CSTO and with our Armenian colleagues. We will clarify the statement above," Mr. Peskov said.

Issues related to the CSTO will have to be handled by the above organization and Russia said that they cannot speak on their behalf. Meanwhile, on the same day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova spoke out about Armenia's statement.

We have never and will not question the sovereign right of any country to determine its foreign policy, including the extent of participation in certain international and regional organizations in accordance with its national interests and obligations assumed. This fully applies to the CSTO," she emphasized. "At the same time, we cannot help but be wary of counterproductive statements, like ultimatums, which are common today in the statements of the Armenian leadership about the activities of the CSTO," Ms. Zakharova said. .

She said: "It is difficult to understand that a part of Armenian officials tries to systematically discuss issues about the effectiveness of the CSTO outside the organization, while all mechanisms, procedures and methods Doing so is available. There are established channels of interaction. But Armenia wants to avoid a literal dialogue between experts on the CSTO platform. At the same time, the organization itself is open open and ready for such work".

Russia accuses Western nations of putting pressure on Armenia "in an attempt to shake the region and use it as a stronghold against Russia."

However, Armenia's current course - if continued - could ultimately cause irreparable damage to our alliance, creating serious risks to the republic's sovereignty , destroying existing effective mechanisms to ensure national security and affecting the country's prospects for stable socio-economic development," Ms. Zakharova warned.

She concluded: "As we have repeatedly emphasized, we are ready to build trust and normal dialogue based on mutual respect with Armenia on a range of issues that have been raised, including cooperate in CSTO". Armenia has long depended on its ally Russia for security. However, the relationship between Russia and Armenia has worsened in recent times.

Armenia expressed dissatisfaction with Russia because it believed that Moscow had not made strong enough moves to support its CSTO ally in the conflict with Azerbaijan in Nagorno - Karabakh. This is an area recognized by the international community as belonging to Azerbaijan but where the majority of people are of Armenian origin.

After Baku regained control of Nagorno - Karabakh, Yerevan also accused Russian peacekeeping forces of failing to protect people of Armenian origin in this land. Meanwhile, Russia affirms that its forces are only following the terms of the ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In February, Armenia announced a temporary suspension of participation in the CSTO, a six-member security alliance established after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Last week, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan revealed that the country is considering applying to become a member of the European Union, aiming to strengthen relations with the West. Yerevan also asked Russian peacekeepers stationed at Yerevan international airport since the country's independence to leave.

In February, Armenia said it had been repeatedly disappointed by Moscow and wanted to build closer ties with the West.

NATO member countries do not rule out sending troops into Ukraine

The Estonian Prime Minister said she does not rule out the possibility of Estonia sending troops into Ukraine if necessary.

During the question session in parliament on March 13, a number of parliamentarians asked Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas to commit that the country's military would not deploy to Ukraine in the context of the current conflict.

However, Prime Minister Kallas said: "I cannot make such commitments because the situation can change. According to your explanation, it seems that any action would be considered interference." (in the Russia-Ukraine conflict). Our military support for Ukraine may also have been considered interference by Russia."

"We have clearly chosen a side and that side is Ukraine because Russia is a direct threat to us," the Estonian leader added. However, she also affirmed that Estonia only intends to send forces to support training for the Ukrainian army, not directly send troops to fight.

Answering a question about plans to evacuate citizens, Ms. Kallas admitted that there is no such plan. She affirmed that all the measures that Estonia is taking regarding aid to Ukraine and strengthening its defense capabilities are aimed at ensuring that no one has to answer the question of evacuation.

Estonia joined NATO in 2004 along with Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. To date, only Estonia and Lithuania have expressed support after French President Emmanuel Macron announced late last month that the West did not rule out the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine

.Mr. Macron's statement caused a lot of controversy. French officials later explained that sending forces to Ukraine did not mean directly participating in the war, but could only be to support the training of soldiers.