Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will not attend the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states. The press service of the Armenian ministry informed Armenpress agency. The reason for the decision was not explained there.
The mentioned meeting is to be held in Minsk on April 12. The previous meeting of the heads of departments was held in February 2024. Its participants summarized the results of foreign policy cooperation in the context of international positioning of the CIS.
Before that, in October 2023, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan refused to participate in the summit of the CIS heads of state in Bishkek. That same month, Pashinyan expressed dissatisfaction with the way the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and Russia were failing to fulfill their allied obligations towards Armenia. In November, a CSTO summit was held in Minsk, in which Yerevan also refused to participate.
Relations between Moscow and Yerevan deteriorated amid the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, during which Azerbaijan took control of the territory of the unrecognized republic. As a result, more than 100,000 Armenians in the region were forced to move to Armenia, and the leadership of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic announced its self-liquidation.
After that, Yerevan de facto froze the country’s participation in the CSTO, Pashinyan said. Later, he announced a possible withdrawal from the organization and demanded that the CSTO designate the borders of Armenia’s sovereign territory, which it is ready to defend.
In turn, Armenian Foreign Minister Mirzoyan said the CSTO “does not recognize Armenia’s borders” and “its zone of responsibility in the South Caucasus is not clearly defined”.
In March, the Armenian Foreign Ministry announced “European aspirations” and a desire to become part of the EU. According to Mirzoyan, Armenia has chosen the democratic path of development, and Brussels and Washington support this movement. It is important for Yerevan to diversify to the utmost, expanding the circle of partners and allies, the Foreign Minister noted. He also emphasized that Yerevan preserves traditional ties and “looks to the East”.
