Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, announced that he declined to participate in the CSTO exercise titled Indestructible Brotherhood 2023, citing the current regional situation. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan informed the CSTO Joint Headquarters that holding drills in Armenia at this time was not appropriate.
At a press conference, Pashinyan confirmed that Armenia would not host these maneuvers this year. He also noted that security along the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh remains the responsibility of Russian peacekeepers and stressed that diplomacy should be the primary tool, using international pressure to open the corridor. He denied rumors that Armenia plans to withdraw from the CSTO.
In November, Pashinyan refused to sign a CSTO Council statement after the Yerevan summit, arguing that the alliance did not respond to Azerbaijan’s actions in the Lachin corridor. In January, a Russian defense ministry page suggested planned CSTO peacekeeping exercises in Armenia would focus on peacekeeping and counter-terrorism purposes.
CSTO members include Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan previously canceled joint exercises with CSTO in October 2022.
Lachin corridor
Since December 12, the Lachin corridor has been blocked, with the only road between Stepanakert and Goris blocked by unidentified individuals. Moscow has stated that it is making every effort to stabilize the regional situation.
Pashinyan emphasized that Armenia will not speak in ultimatums when discussing the opening of the Lachin corridor with Russia. He noted that public statements have already conveyed Armenia’s position and that there is nothing further to add.
He remarked that Baku attributes its actions to fear that Armenia and Russia might cooperate against Azerbaijan. While acknowledging the tension, he suggested the statements should be viewed in the context of the broader Ukrainian crisis. He warned that the absence of a response could threaten Armenian security, given the presence of Russian forces in the region.
Earlier remarks from the Armenian prime minister indicated that if Russia could not ensure stability and security in Nagorno-Karabakh, it should seek UN Security Council authorization for a peacekeeping mandate or deploy additional peacekeepers to the area.
Moscow’s reaction
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin press secretary, said Moscow will maintain dialogue with Yerevan on all issues, including the difficult ones currently at hand. He added that the CSTO would clarify Armenia’s position on the 2023 exercises. Regarding Pashinyan’s statement, Peskov suggested that colleagues would contact the CSTO to elaborate on Armenia’s stance.
Peskov reaffirmed that Armenia remains a close ally and that dialogue would continue on challenging topics. Vladislav Shchegrikovich, the CSTO Joint Headquarters press secretary, noted that discussions are ongoing about the possibility of moving such drills to another CSTO member state. He mentioned that the Joint Headquarters is developing recommendations for potential 2023 joint command and control training on the CSTO security framework and that the information was reported by TASS.