“If they want to expel Armenia from the CSTO, they are welcome to” — Pashinyan

“If they want to expel Armenia from the CSTO, go ahead” — Pashinyan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed his views on his country's membership in the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) and the Russian military base during a conversation with journalists.

**Pashinyan on the CSTO**

Pashinyan said that there is no need to threaten Armenia with expulsion from the CSTO. He spoke about this as follows:

“If they want to expel Armenia from the CSTO, go ahead, let them expel us. If they do not want to expel us, let them not expel us.”

The Prime Minister compared this situation to the Armenian fairy tale “The Death of Kikos.” In this fairy tale, a family mourns in advance, imagining that an unborn child will fall from a tree and die tomorrow. Pashinyan noted that the same kind of groundless anxiety is expected from Armenia.

**The issue of the Russian military base**

Speaking about the Russian military base, Pashinyan said that Armenia has never raised the issue of withdrawing this base. According to him, Russia itself brought up this issue.

He emphasized that this base is not of vital importance for Armenia's security.

“If they want to withdraw the base, go ahead, let them take it away tomorrow. If they want to stay, we are ready to discuss the terms,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister explained this position by the events of September 2022. He also added that this topic had not been openly discussed by Armenian and Russian officials before.

For information, Russia's 102nd military base, located in Gyumri and Yerevan, was established on a contractual basis. In 2010, this agreement was extended until 2044. The base is supposed to repel external threats to Armenia.

**Moscow's reaction**

In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the stay or relocation of the base depends on Yerevan's decision.

“We do not force anyone into anything. If the Armenian people want a Russian military presence, we will stay. If they find it unnecessary, we will leave tomorrow,” Putin said.

In May, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu stated that he saw no grounds for closing the base. At the beginning of 2026, both Pashinyan himself and the former speaker of the Armenian parliament, Alen Simonyan, emphasized that there were no plans to expel the 102nd military base and that Yerevan was a close partner of Moscow.

Earlier, Russia suspended gas exports to Armenia under the pretext of repairs. This situation arose at a time when political and economic relations between the two countries had deteriorated.