YEREVAN, September 7. /TASS/. There is no way Armenia can join NATO, owing to "technical and political reasons," Sargis Khandanyan, Head of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Relations and a member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's party, said.
"Armenia is open to cooperation with other countries in the security and defense spheres. As for Armenia’s NATO membership, I don't see how it is possible for technical and political reasons, and the Armenian government has never talked about wanting to be a member," he said at a briefing.
At the same time, Khandanyan criticized the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which, according to him, has "abandoned Armenia." The lawmaker also said that Yerevan has "many questions" for Moscow.
On September 4, Gunther Fehlinger, chair of the European Committee for NATO Enlargement, called on Armenia to join the alliance. Later that day, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan said that his country cooperated with NATO in various formats and that it was ready to continue this process.
On September 6, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko called Fehlinger’s remarks about Armenia needing to join NATO a "grand fantasy." According to him, Moscow proceeds from the reality that Armenia is a member of the CSTO and intends to "further strengthen military and political cooperation" with its ally.
Earlier, the Armenian Defense Ministry announced that joint military exercises between Armenia and the US entitled Eagle Partner 2023 will be held on the territory of Armenia on September 11-20. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Moscow has expressed its concern to Yerevan over the decision to hold exercises with the US. The diplomat pointed out that Armenia, as a member of the CSTO, "in the spirit of alliance and partnership, should stick to conducting exercises with those who are members of this alliance."