Armenia Stripped of Voting Rights in CSTO Over Contribution Arrears

The CSTO Collective Security Council, at its November 11 summit in Moscow, stripped Armenia of its voting rights and of the ability to nominate representatives to posts allocated by quota. The decision was taken on the basis of Article 25 of the CSTO charter, which provides for such restrictions for states with arrears on membership contributions. Yerevan retains its membership in the organization.

CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov said that the summit participants did not consider the question of expelling Armenia from the organization. According to him, Yerevan will be able to restore its voting rights after the arrears are paid off.

While the summit was being held in Moscow on November 11, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The following day he held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. On November 12 in Dublin, at the summit of the European Political Community, Pashinyan met Aliyev again: according to the press service of the Armenian government, the sides discussed border delimitation, trade, transport links and the implementation of the TRIPP project.

The project provides for transport communication between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan through Armenian territory; the sides discussed the preparation of railway and road infrastructure. According to official data, since November 2024, 105,000 tonnes of cargo have been delivered to Armenia through Azerbaijan.

Yerevan's political distancing from the CSTO began earlier: in February 2024, Pashinyan announced the freezing of the country's participation in the organization, explaining this by the fact that the allies had not fulfilled their obligations to ensure Armenia's security during the events on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in 2021-2022. Yerevan did not send an official notification of withdrawal.

In parallel, Armenia is purchasing armaments from France and India — armored vehicles, artillery systems, radar equipment — and is developing military cooperation with the United States: in June 2025, the joint exercises Eagle Partner-2025 were held on its territory with the participation of servicemen from Armenia, the United States, France and Greece.