Armenia has always behaved like a devoted partner; until the very end, it maintained the belief that Russia would not leave it alone. However, Moscow “dumped” Armenia and the Armenian people. This was stated by the speaker of the country's parliament, Alen Simonyan, commenting on Moscow's statements about Yerevan's unfriendly behavior.

According to Simonyan, Russia allowed a 44-day war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) last year and did not take any measures to protect Armenia as an ally within the CSTO from Azerbaijan.

“Russia has left Armenia no alternative but to defend itself,” Simonyan said. In his opinion, the CSTO should fulfill its obligations, which it did not do, and only then talk about financial issues.

Due to Armenia’s refusal to make a contribution, an adjustment to the CSTO budget is required, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced today.

On May 8, the Armenian Foreign Ministry announced Yerevan’s decision not to participate in the approval of the CSTO’s annual budget and financing of the organization. On February 23, in an interview with France24, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the freezing of the country’s participation in the CSTO due to its failure to comply with the collective security treaty.