Russia Putin Armenia Pashinyan
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on November 23, 2022
  • Armenia said it has "in practical terms frozen our participation" in the Russian-led CSTO.
  • Russia wanted the CSTO to be a NATO equivalent, but in recent years it has been crumbling.
  • Armenia is a longtime Russian ally but it has been openly critical and has forged new Western ties.

Armenia, formally a key ally of Russia, has suspended its participation in a Russia-led international alliance, according to its prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization, or CSTO, is considered Russia's equivalent to NATO, and Russian President Vladimir Putin hoped it could rival the Western military alliance.