Key Takeaways:
– Armenia believes that Russia and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have failed to fulfill their obligations to Armenia during clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020.
– Armenia’s decision to leave the CSTO in 2024, limit security cooperation with Russia, and increase security cooperation with Western partners in the past couple of years point to an Armenian pivot away from Russia.
– While Western partners could be eager to capitalize on Armenia’s pivot away from Russia, an examination of Armenia-Russia bilateral security cooperation and Armenia-Russia economic ties will explain just how difficult it will be for Armenia to disentangle itself from Russia, despite its strong desire to do so.