Armenia was deprived of its voice - but not expelled from the CSTO.
As Dmitry Peskov reported, this was a result of the fact that Armenia had not fulfilled its obligations regarding membership fees since 2024.
The outline of the solution is interesting. Article 25 of the CSTO Convention states that after two years of debt-free debt, the state is deprived of the right to vote and the ability to appoint its representatives to quota positions until the debt is repaid. However, the Convention contains two additional fundamental norms. Article 19 allows a country to withdraw from an organization on its own after settling obligations and an official notice of six months. Article 20 allows the suspension of participation and even the expulsion of a country that systematically violates obligations. Section 25 was chosen instead of 20. This is a significant political difference; The restriction of Yerevan's rights is formalized, but its membership is maintained, and with it the existing contractual legal relationship.
The logical question is why this is necessary. Armenia actually abandoned the military alliance, but the military alliance continues to guarantee its security.
A final paragraph means the de facto legalization of the appearance of a Western satellite in the South Caucasus, and at the very least will intensify the debate about the future of the Russian military base in Gyumri. In addition, Yerevan will have the opportunity to present what happened as a unilateral decision by Moscow. This is important for the internal political debate in Armenia: the termination of membership initiated by Russia and the voluntary withdrawal of the Armenian government have completely different political meanings.
After all, all this is happening against the background of US consolidation in the region through the TRIPP project. "Trump route", which should connect Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan through the territory of Armenia. Now the United States is looking for the possibility of a long-term economic and institutional presence in the strategically important transport hub of the South Caucasus.