CSTO summit adopts declaration to revoke Armenia’s voting rights
Quick Look
- Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO in Moscow.
- The meeting adopted a number of security declarations and decided to revoke Armenia’s right to vote and nominate for positions in the organization due to its failure to fulfill its obligations.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The CSTO is an important security cooperation framework in Eurasia. Armenia has recently had tense relations with the organization and has been absent from meetings many times.
China News Service, Moscow, November 11th: Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at the Kremlin on the 11th. The meeting adopted a series of documents including the CSTO Collective Security Council Declaration and decided to cancel Armenia’s voting rights in the organization.
Belarusian President Lukashenko, Kazakhstan President Tokayev, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon and Kyrgyzstan President Zhaparov attended the meeting.
The declaration stated that the development of cooperation within the framework of the CSTO is a diplomatic priority of the organization and joint measures will be taken to further strengthen the collective security system. The CSTO is the cornerstone of an equal and indivisible security architecture in Eurasia. When any country or alliance of countries pursues its own security, it must not sacrifice the security of other countries.
The declaration expresses concern about the intensified threats and rising strategic risks posed by the military strategic infrastructure of certain countries or members of military alliances and groupings advancing towards the borders of CSTO member states, and emphasizes that the deployment of weapons systems that pose a threat to collective security around CSTO member states is unacceptable.
The declaration emphasizes the need to strengthen collective efforts to prevent an arms race in outer space by initiating negotiations on relevant multilateral, legally binding instruments as soon as possible. The declaration reaffirms the political commitment not to be the first to deploy weapons in outer space.
The declaration emphasizes that freedom of navigation and the safety of international commercial shipping should be ensured based on universally recognized principles and norms in international law. It is unacceptable to seize, detain, arrest or inspect commercial ships in violation of the norms of international law. The declaration expresses concern about the increasing number of attacks on commercial ships and port infrastructure using unmanned equipment, and strongly calls on all countries to avoid taking any actions that may destabilize the situation and threaten maritime trade and global energy and food security.
The leaders at the meeting decided on Armenia’s application of Article 25 of the organization’s charter, revoking Armenia’s voting rights in the CSTO and suspending the right to nominate Armenian citizens for positions in the organization. Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov said on the same day that the decision was based on Asia's failure to fulfill its obligations in the CSTO.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Armenia’s activities in CSTO will be further restricted
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- Will Armenia completely withdraw from the CSTO in the future?
- How will Armenia respond to the decision to revoke voting rights?
