Radio Liberty says a pro-Western opposition alliance staged a protest in Yerevan on November 22 calling for Armenia’s exit from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) ahead of a summit of the Moscow-led defense bloc in the Armenian capital.
The National-Democratic Pole (NDP) reportedly consists of a number of political parties and fringe groups espousing mostly nationalist views.
Participants in the protest chanted anti-Russian slogans as they marched through central Yerevan. They charged that neither Russia nor other members of the CSTO, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, came to Armenia’s aid during or after deadly border clashes with Azerbaijan in September.
Meanwhile, CSTO Secretary-General Stanislav Zas told reporters in Yerevan after the summit that the document on CSTO assistance to Armenia is almost ready, but needs some revision.
Zas reportedly noted that after the amendments are made, the document will be submitted for signing to the heads of states included in the bloc, but did not give specific dates.
JAMnews says this means the military bloc never made a decision to provide military assistance to Armenia to protect its borders, which Yerevan had requested.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described the CSTO handling of the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a “fiasco”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that it is the right of Armenia to regard the situation in this way, “but on the other hand, the demands on the CSTO in this situation are obvious.”
