Authorities of Armenia are called upon to withdraw from CSTO, terminate military and economic agreements with Russian Federation, and apply for EU membership

A number of public and political forces in Armenia have called on the country’s authorities to start the process of withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which are all linked to Russia, as soon as possible and apply for membership in the European Union.

They made the statement the day before during the Independence Forum, Censor.NET reports, citing the Armenian service of Radio Svoboda.

The authors of the statement condemned the "threats from Russia and Azerbaijan to Armenia's independence and territorial integrity" and called on the Armenian authorities to withdraw from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

"These days, the anti-Armenian position and policy pursued by the Russian authorities, the victims of which are the Armenian people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh - Ed.), are not only bad but also further deepen the gap that has emerged between Armenia and Russia in recent years, making it almost insurmountable, which creates an urgent need for a radical revision of the entire existing legal framework between the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation," the statement reads.

The authors of the statement consider the "forced deportation of Artsakh Armenians through starvation and military aggression" in the same logic as "Russian aggression and genocide against the people of Ukraine".

Organizations and individuals, while welcoming the readiness of the Armenian authorities to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, call on them to do so without any reservations.

They also called on the Armenian authorities to withdraw from the CSTO, EAEU, and CIS, which are effectively led by Russia, terminate all military and economic agreements with Russia, and ban the broadcasting of Russian state-owned and state-affiliated TV channels.

The statement also calls for Ukraine to apply to the European Union for full membership, sign bilateral strategic partnership agreements with EU member states, the United States, Canada, India, and other democratic countries of the United West, and initiate steps to deepen bilateral and multilateral military and military-technical cooperation with Western and Euro-Atlantic countries. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3446853