Armenia should be excluded from the CSTO, as it does not participate in its work, but at the same time, all decisions should be coordinated with it, former CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyozhe told the media. Currently, the CSTO includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In 2024, Armenia announced a "freeze" of its participation, although this was not stipulated in the organization's charter, and stopped paying membership fees. “If they suspend participation but do not withdraw, they remain full members of the CSTO. If they are full members of the CSTO, then all decisions - and decisions in the CSTO are made by consensus - must be made taking their positions into account. And this position today, in fact, contradicts what is being done at the CSTO," Bordiosa explained. In his opinion, it would be fair for Yerevan to withdraw from the CSTO entirely, and if it does not, then to withdraw Armenia from the CSTO entirely. "I would rule them out. No fees are paid, no participation is accepted. In all seriousness, they should just take it and leave if they are serious partners. But since they have an ambivalent position, that we won't go out and we won't work, and we don't participate, and we don't want to, they should be kept away," Bordiosa believes. Earlier, CSTO Secretary General Talatbek Mesdikov said that at the CSTO Collective Security Council in Moscow on November 11, 2026, the issue of excluding Armenia can be raised. According to him, the Republic violates Articles 20 and 25 of the Charter of the parallel organization in Telegram | maximum | | preposition

Armenia should be excluded from the CSTO, as it does not participate in its work, but at the same time, all decisions should be coordinated with it, former CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyozhe told the media. Currently, the CSTO includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In 2024, Armenia announced a "freeze" of its participation, although this was not stipulated in the organization's charter, and stopped paying membership fees. “If they suspend participation but do not withdraw, they remain full members of the CSTO. If they are full members of the CSTO, then all decisions - and decisions in the CSTO are made by consensus - must be made taking their positions into account. And this position today, in fact, contradicts what is being done at the CSTO," Bordiosa explained. In his opinion, it would be fair for Yerevan to withdraw from the CSTO entirely, and if it does not, then to withdraw Armenia from the CSTO entirely. "I would rule them out. No fees are paid, no participation is accepted. In all seriousness, they should just take it and leave if they are serious partners. But since they have an ambivalent position, that we won't go out and we won't work, and we don't participate, and we don't want to, they should be kept away," Bordiosa believes. Earlier, CSTO Secretary General Talatbek Mesdikov said that at the CSTO Collective Security Council in Moscow on November 11, 2026, the issue of excluding Armenia can be raised. According to him, the Republic violates Articles 20 and 25 of the Charter of the parallel organization in Telegram | maximum | | preposition