After the start of
renewed fighting between Armenia and former member Azerbaijan on 13 September 2022, Armenia triggered Article 4 of the treaty, and a CSTO mission including CSTO Secretary General
Stanislav Zas and
Anatoly Sidorov was sent to monitor the situation along
the border. After the CSTO mission took a rather uncommitted position in the conflict, criticism towards CSTO membership inside Armenian political circles increased, with the secretary of the
Security Council of Armenia,
Armen Grigoryan, even stating that he saw no more hope for the CSTO. The lack of Russian support during the conflict prompted a national debate in Armenia, as an increasing percentage of the population indicated doubt as to whether it is beneficial to continue CSTO membership, calling for
realignment of the state with NATO instead. This coincided with a visit from
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Yerevan on 17 September 2022, largely seen as an effort to reorient the security alliance structure of Armenia. To discuss the results of the CSTO mission sent on 15 September 2022, an extraordinary session of the CSTO was held via videoconference on 28 October 2022. With the leaders of all member states and
CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas in attendance, the meeting was chaired by Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan, who concurred with the report presented by the Secretary General while also reiterating the importance for a clear political assessment of Azerbaijani aggression and a roadmap for the restoration of Armenian territorial integrity. A regular Collective Security Council meeting took place on 23 November 2022 with the leaders of all CSTO members present to discuss matters of international and regional security. After Pashinyan refused to sign the joint declaration because it did not "reach a decision on a CSTO response to
Azerbaijan's aggression against Armenia", speculation arose regarding the continuation of the CSTO. Secretary General Stanislas Zas indicated that, though numerous measures in the diplomatic as well as military spheres were generally agreed upon, no consensus regarding the situation on the border could be reached. The diplomatic friction continued into January 2023, after Pashinyan refused to hold common military drills, because the organisation did not unequivocally condemn Azerbaijan over its perceived aggression. In response,
Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary of the President of Russia, stated that Armenia remains a very close ally and promised to continue the dialogue. To mend their ties,
Sergey Lavrov offered the deployment of a CSTO mission along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on 2 February 2023 within one or two days, "if our Armenian allies, friends are still interested in it like before". In May 2023, after
the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated, the
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia could consider withdrawing from the treaty due to the lack of support from
Russia in the conflict. In an interview with CNN broadcast on 1 June 2023, Pashinyan stated that "Armenia is not an ally of Russia in the
war in Ukraine". On 3 September 2023, during an interview, Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that it was a strategic mistake for Armenia to solely rely on Russia to guarantee its security. Pashinyan stated, "Moscow has been unable to deliver and is in the process of winding down its role in the wider South Caucasus region" and "the Russian Federation cannot meet Armenia's security needs. This example should demonstrate to us that dependence on just one partner in security matters is a strategic mistake." Pashinyan accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to uphold the
ceasefire deal of failing to do their job. Pashinyan confirmed that Armenia is trying to diversify its security arrangements, most notably with the
European Union and the
United States. During the
2023 Armenian protests that began following the
2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, demonstrators surrounded the
Russian embassy in Yerevan criticizing Russia's refusal to intervene in the offensive. Some protesters called for the rejection of the
Alma-Ata Protocol, and Armenia's withdrawal from the CSTO. Armenia declined participating in military exercises and the
CIS summit in Kyrgyzstan in October 2023 and asked for
Russian peacekeeping forces to return to Russia. The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, went further in late October saying he saw "no advantage" in the presence of
Russian troops in Armenia. Currently around 10,000 Russian troops are in stationed in
Gyumri.
Disengagement of membership , Armenia has not withdrawn from the CSTO, but it has stopped all participation in it. On 12 March, Pashinyan said that the CSTO needed to clarify "what constitutes Armenia's sovereign territory", as the organization had not come to Armenia's defence when requested following
Azerbaijani troops crossing the border into Armenia's internationally recognized territory. Pashinyan said that if the CSTO's response did not align with Armenia's expectations, the country would officially withdraw from the organization. On 8 May 2024, Armenia announced it had stopped making financial contributions to the CSTO, leading Russia to state that it was still obligated to pay its membership dues. On 12 June 2024, Armenia announced that it would formally withdraw from the alliance at an unspecified later date, On 14 November 2024, Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ani Badalyan announced that there has been no change in Armenia's stance on freezing its participation in the CSTO. On 4 December 2024, during parliamentary discussions in the National Assembly, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that "we already consider ourselves outside the CSTO" and "I believe we have crossed the point of no return" in regards to Armenia's membership status in the CSTO. On 31 March 2025, Armenia sent notice to CSTO officials that it would neither sign nor comply with the 2024 CSTO budget. Before this notice, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia set a deadline of the end of 2025 for payment of 2024 membership fees, without making specific threats for the effects of non-payment. After Armenia's official notice, a spokesperson for the Russian president's office made assurances that the "CSTO poses no threat" to Armenia. == Public opinion ==