We have not discussed and are not discussing NATO membership: Pashinyan

We have not stated that we deny or reject cooperation with Russia altogether and particularly in the security sector. We have indicated our intention to diversify our security relations. This was stated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in an interview with The Telegraph.

“What does this mean? Does it mean that we are going to sever our security relations with Russia? No, it does not mean that, but it does mean that we are preparing to establish and are willing to discuss and work on establishing security relations, for example, with the European Union, which is already largely a reality, with France, which is already largely a reality, with the United States, which is already largely a reality, with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is already largely a reality, with India, which is already largely a reality, and with numerous other countries we are consulting. The security relations with the United States, or France, or India, or the European Union, are naturally not directed against Russia. They simply reflect the reality that our previous security relations do not address our security needs,” he said.

“We do not have such an agenda concerning NATO. In other words, we have not discussed and are not discussing NATO membership. We have a partnership with NATO, and there is nothing new in that regard. Previously, we had an Individual Partnership Action Plan, which is now being restructured into a certain format of cooperation that does not imply membership. Let me also tell you that as of today we are at least de jure members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and I am not sure that there are substantial discussions in Armenia regarding how the bloc's strategy aligns with Armenia's interests in general terms over the long term,” he added.