Armenian PM critical of Moscow-dominated security pact

By AVET DEMOURIAN
Associated Press

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia’s prime minister has accused a Moscow-dominated security alliance of leaving his country in the cold in the face of a threat of renewed hostilities with neighboring Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has been repeatedly critical of what he described as the failure of the Collective Security Treaty Organiation (CSTO) to protect its member Armenia amid a standoff with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh. Speaking at Tuesday’s news conference, Pashinyan said it wasn’t Armenia that is pulling out of the CSTO, but, on the contrary, “the  CSTO is pulling out of Armenia.” He emphasized that “the threat of escalation along Armenia’s border and in Nagorno-Karabakh is very high now,” noting “increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Azerbaijan.”