Armenia may be expelled from CSTO over unpaid membership dues

Armenia could be expelled from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for failing to pay its membership dues, according to the organization's Secretary General Talatbek Masadykov, as reported by RIA Novosti.

Masadykov said the current situation could be considered under Article 20 of the CSTO Charter: membership dues are not being paid, quota positions are not being filled, and there is no voting right. He added that the issue could be discussed at a meeting of the organization's Collective Security Council in Moscow on November 11.

Yerevan stopped paying dues to the CSTO budget at the start of 2024. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the country's participation in the organization had been frozen, linking it to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Pashinyan claimed that at least two member states helped Azerbaijan prepare for war with Armenia and that Yerevan received only nominal assistance, though he did not name the countries.