The CSTO secretariat did not receive any document from Yerevan regarding the suspension of membership, according to “Novosti” agency, quoting a source in the organization on Friday.
The source said, “Until now, the CSTO secretariat has not received any statement from Yerevan regarding the suspension of membership in the organization. As for the hypothesis of freezing participation, it seems that what is meant is the Republic of Armenia not participating in a number of activities recently conducted by the CSTO.” .
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with France 24 on Thursday that the Collective Security Agreement “has not been implemented” with regard to Armenia, and “today, we have practically frozen our participation in this agreement, in this organization.”
Yerevan has repeatedly accused the CSTO and Moscow of failing to fulfill their obligations. Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said in January that his country “has no expectations” from the CSTO, which did not provide an “adequate response” to Armenia’s request for assistance during its exposure to a “large-scale attack” in September 2022.
Pashinyan refused to participate in the CSTO summit in Minsk on November 23.
The CSTO includes six countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Last May, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted the importance of Yerevan's participation in joint operational and combat training activities within the CSTO.
In turn, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the prospects for Armenia's participation in the CSTO, said that Moscow "will continue dialogue with Armenian friends," including on the CSTO file.
"Telegraph": 15,000 Ukrainian refugees in Britain lost their places of residence
At least 15,000 Ukrainian refugees in Britain lost their homes, according to what the Telegraph newspaper reported, citing data from the Ministry of Regional Development and Housing, representing about 7.5% of the total Ukrainian refugees.
Currently in the UK there is a so-called sponsorship scheme for obtaining asylum for Ukrainians , so they need to get an invitation from individuals, charities or associations that provide shelter for refugees or they pay for them to obtain separate housing.
At the same time, the government pays 350 pounds ($445) a month to Britons who host refugees in their homes.
This amount increases to 500 pounds ($635) per month after the first year of British families’ support for Ukrainian refugees.
Within the framework of this program, about 130 thousand Ukrainians moved to the territory of the United Kingdom.
In turn, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Defense Secretary Grant Shapps provided shelter for Ukrainian refugees in homes belonging to them.
A source told the newspaper that many Ukrainian refugees have become homeless because sponsors pledge to provide housing for only 6 months, after which they can act according to their own discretion.