On March 16, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, addressed the journalist's questions about the possibility of Armenia leaving the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Zakharova noted that on September 13 and October 28, 2022, extraordinary sessions of the CSTO Collective Security Council were held, the then Secretary General of the organization Stanislav Zas and the mission led by Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff Colonel-General Anatoly Sidorov visited Armenia.

The Russian diplomat reminded that a plan to deploy a CSTO observation mission in Armenia was prepared, and the development of the relevant decision was practically completed at the meeting of the organization's statutory bodies held in Yerevan.

"At the same time, due to certain demands of Armenian partners, which were problematic for other CSTO members, it was not possible to take this decision," said Zakharova.

At the beginning of January, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia refused to host the "Indestructible Brotherhood-2023" military exercises of the collective rapid reaction forces of the CSTO in its territory. And on March 10, it became known that Armenia, according to the relevant procedure, applied to the CSTO to give up its quota of the CSTO Deputy Secretary General.