“We cannot but be alarmed by the counterproductive and sometimes insulting ultimatum rhetoric that prevails nowadays in the statements of Armenia’s leadership on the organization and imposed on Armenian society,” Zakharova said.

The spokeswoman added that Russia has never questioned the sovereign right of all States to determine their foreign policy, including the extent to which they participate in any international or regional institution, based on their national interests and obligations.

However, Moscow is astonished by the Armenian leadership’s willingness to discuss the effectiveness of the CSTO outside the body, “given that for such goal all mechanisms, formats and channels of interaction exist.”

According to Zakharova, the current course of the Armenian leadership may cause “irreparable damage to the alliance relations” between Moscow and Yerevan, as well as it may pose risks for Armenia’s sovereignty.

The spokeswoman further stressed that Russia understands the level of pressure on its Armenian partners by Western countries in their will to destabilize the situation in the region.

On Tuesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian stated that his country will leave the CSTO if the organization does not answer the questions raised by Yerevan on the nation’s sovereign territory.

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