Russian envoy says CSTO may suspend Armenia rights at November summit

Russia's permanent representative to the Collective Security Treaty Organization said Thursday that the alliance may discuss suspending Armenia's voting and nomination rights at the November summit, citing Yerevan's failure to meet budgetary obligations for over two years. Viktor Vasiliev told Russian state news agency Ria that the organization's charter allows suspension of a member state's right to nominate candidates for quota-based positions and its voting rights in CSTO bodies if the state fails to meet its financial obligations to the organization's budget for two years. "De facto, this provision has already been in effect for more than two years," Vasiliev said, noting that Armenia has not nominated citizens for quota-based positions in the CSTO Secretariat and has withdrawn its representatives from the organization's Joint Staff during this period.

November summit procedures and budget details

The next session of the CSTO Collective Security Council is scheduled in Moscow on Nov. 11, where leaders of member states may address the issue, Vasiliev said. Any decision would require consensus among the organization's members, he added, emphasizing that no unilateral action could be taken against Yerevan. Armenia's contribution to the CSTO budget amounts to 10%, according to the envoy. The organization's 2026 budget includes 278.27 million rubles ($3.5 million) for the CSTO Secretariat and 292.07 million rubles ($3.7 million) for its Joint Staff, meaning Armenia's combined financial share would amount to approximately 57 million rubles ($4.6 million) based on current exchange rates.

Bilateral relations and NATO cooperation concerns

Vasiliev rejected characterizing Armenia's relationship with the CSTO as a "conflict," stating the organization remains interested in maintaining constructive relations with Yerevan. He said Moscow wanted to preserve friendly bilateral ties, citing longstanding historical and social connections between the two countries, and added that the Karabakh conflict was outside the CSTO's mandate and should not be directly linked to Armenia's relations with the organization. The envoy also addressed Armenia's expanding security cooperation with NATO member states, including the Eagle Partner-2026 military exercise involving Armenian, US, French and Greek personnel, saying Russia viewed such cooperation as part of broader efforts by NATO countries and other Western states to strengthen their military and political ties with Armenia.

Defense policy and regional security initiatives

On nuclear weapons policy, Vasiliev stated that Russia's defense doctrine provides for the possible use of nuclear weapons, including in defense of allies, in circumstances involving an existential threat to the state or its allies. Regarding the potential deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in other CSTO member states, he noted that three CSTO countries are parties to the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, which would complicate such deployments. The envoy said the CSTO was closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan, particularly the risks of terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking spilling across borders. According to Vasiliev, the organization is implementing a program aimed at strengthening Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan, with Dushanbe expected to submit specific requests for equipment and other resources it needs to secure the frontier. He added that CSTO members adopted measures to strengthen the organization's collective defense capabilities, including plans to develop collective aviation forces and create a mobile air-defense capability, with these measures expected to be submitted to leaders for approval in November although practical work has already begun. Vasiliev said the organization was also assessing how military experience from the Ukraine conflict could be incorporated into CSTO training and exercises. On relations with NATO, he said the CSTO had remained open to dialogue with European and international security organizations, but claimed NATO had shown no reciprocal interest in engagement. The official added that Russia and Belarus proposed developing a new security architecture in Eurasia and that related discussions were currently underway within the CSTO framework.