Last updated: May 29, 2026
The Collective Security Treaty Organization is a Russian-led military alliance formed in 1992 among several post-Soviet states, including Armenia. For decades it served as the formal backbone of Armenia’s security architecture, providing the legal basis for basing Russian troops in the country and for collective defense commitments. Armenia’s membership was long treated as the price of Russia’s security umbrella in a volatile region.
The relationship fractured after the 44-Day War of 2020, when Russia brokered the ceasefire but CSTO troops were never deployed to defend Armenia. The September 2023 Azerbaijani offensive against Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) — which resulted in the ethnic cleansing of the entire Armenian population — exposed the alliance’s unwillingness to act on Armenia’s behalf. In 2024, Armenia formally suspended its participation in CSTO activities, effectively freezing its membership without a formal withdrawal.
Groong has covered the deterioration of Armenia’s relationship with the CSTO extensively: from the initial 2020 disillusionment through repeated CSTO summits where Armenia was isolated, the failed mediation attempts, and the domestic and foreign-policy implications of Armenia’s pivot away from the Russian security orbit toward Western security partnerships with France, the EU, and India .
Below are all Groong episodes tagged with CSTO.
Episode 182 | Recorded: December 13, 2022
Episode 181 | Recorded: December 6, 2022
Episode 181 | Recorded: December 6, 2022
Episode 180 | Recorded: December 5, 2022
Episode 180 | Recorded: December 5, 2022
Episode 177 | Recorded: November 14, 2022
Episode 177 | Recorded: November 14, 2022
Episode 173 | Recorded: November 1, 2022
Episode 173 | Recorded: November 1, 2022
Episode 169 | Recorded: October 17, 2022
Episode 169 | Recorded: October 17, 2022
Episode 168 | Recorded: Friday, October 14, 2022
Episode 168 | Recorded: Friday, October 14, 2022
Episode 166 | Recorded: October 1 & 3, 2022
Episode 166 | Recorded: October 1 & 3, 2022
Episode 165 | Recorded: Sunday, September 18, 2022
Episode 165 | Recorded: Sunday, September 18, 2022
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - July 10, 2022
Topics:
Guests:
Host:
Episode 146 | Recorded: Monday, July 11, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220710.html
#armenian #news
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - July 10, 2022
Topics:
Guests:
Host:
Episode 146 | Recorded: Monday, July 11, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220710.html
#armenian #news
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - June 5, 2022
Topics:
Guests:
Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan / TW/@Benyamin_Poghos
Host:
Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq Episode 141 | Recorded: Monday, June 6, 2022
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - June 5, 2022
Topics:
Guests:
Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan / TW/@Benyamin_Poghos
Host:
Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq Episode 141 | Recorded: Monday, June 6, 2022
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - May 29, 2022
Topics:
00:00 Introduction
02:27 Russiaâs Geopolitics: Weâll get an update on the war as well as trying to understand what Russiaâs endgame is in Ukraine and how it may affect our region.
23:10 Armenia-Russia Relations: Next, we try to understand the dynamics of Armenia-Russian relations as well as the outlook for the future.
42:38 Israeli Interests and Armenia: Lastly, taking advantage of our guestâs area of expertise, we look at Israeli-Armenian relations, the history of failures in this
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - May 29, 2022
Topics:
00:00 Introduction
02:27 Russiaâs Geopolitics: Weâll get an update on the war as well as trying to understand what Russiaâs endgame is in Ukraine and how it may affect our region.
23:10 Armenia-Russia Relations: Next, we try to understand the dynamics of Armenia-Russian relations as well as the outlook for the future.
42:38 Israeli Interests and Armenia: Lastly, taking advantage of our guestâs area of expertise, we look at Israeli-Armenian relations, the history of failures in this
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - May 22, 2022
Topics:
Guests:
Host:
Episode 139 | Recorded: Monday, May 23, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220522.html #zartnirlao
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - May 22, 2022
Topics:
Guests:
Host:
Episode 139 | Recorded: Monday, May 23, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220522.html #zartnirlao
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - April 24, 2022
Topics:
Guest:
Host:
Episode 133 | Recorded: Monday, April 25, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220424.html
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - April 24, 2022
Topics:
Guest:
Host:
Episode 133 | Recorded: Monday, April 25, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220424.html
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - April 10, 2022
Topics:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:25 Opposition Protests in Yerevan: Thousands showed up to the opposition protest on Tuesday, outlining the red lines for Pashinyan’s dealings with Aliyev, ahead of the meeting in Brussels. Opposition says this is only the beginning, but have yet to indicate what their next steps will be.
00:12:35 Buying Bread from a Man in Brussels: Pashinyan went to Brussels this week to meet with Charles Michel and Ilham Aliyev. Did the Armenian PM
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - April 10, 2022
Topics:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:25 Opposition Protests in Yerevan: Thousands showed up to the opposition protest on Tuesday, outlining the red lines for Pashinyan’s dealings with Aliyev, ahead of the meeting in Brussels. Opposition says this is only the beginning, but have yet to indicate what their next steps will be.
00:12:35 Buying Bread from a Man in Brussels: Pashinyan went to Brussels this week to meet with Charles Michel and Ilham Aliyev. Did the Armenian PM
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - March 20, 2022
Topics:
Guest:
Host:
Episode 129 | Recorded: Sunday, March 21, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220320.html
Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - March 20, 2022
Topics:
Guest:
Host:
Episode 129 | Recorded: Sunday, March 21, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220320.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - March 13, 2022
Topics:
Guest:
Host:
Episode 128 | Recorded: Sunday, March 13, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220313.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - March 13, 2022
Topics:
Guest:
Host:
Episode 128 | Recorded: Sunday, March 13, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220313.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - March 6, 2022
Topics:
Guest:
Host:
Episode 126 | Recorded: Sunday, March 6, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220306.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - March 6, 2022
Topics:
Guest:
Host:
Episode 126 | Recorded: Sunday, March 6, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220306.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - February 27, 2022
Topics:
Guest:
Episode 125 | Recorded: Sunday, February 27, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220227.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - February 27, 2022
Topics:
Guest:
Episode 125 | Recorded: Sunday, February 27, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220227.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - January 9, 2022
Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 112 | Recorded: Sunday, January 9, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220109.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - January 9, 2022
Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 112 | Recorded: Sunday, January 9, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220109.html
Turkish-Armenian Normalization Negotiations A Conversation with Harut Sassounian
Topics:
Turkish-Armenian Normalization Negotiations A Conversation with Harut Sassounian
Topics:
ANN/Groong Week in Review - November 28, 2021
Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 104 | Recorded: Sunday, November 28, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211128.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - November 28, 2021
Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 104 | Recorded: Sunday, November 28, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211128.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - November 7, 2021
Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 101 | Recorded: Monday, November 16, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211114.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - November 7, 2021
Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 101 | Recorded: Monday, November 16, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211114.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 22, 2021
Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 86 | Recorded: August 22, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210822.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 22, 2021
Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 86 | Recorded: August 22, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210822.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 15, 2021
Topics:
Guests:
Asbed Kotchikian is an Associate Professor of political science and international relations at the American University of Armenia.
Benyamin Poghosyan is the chairman of the Center For Political and Economic Strategic Studies, a Yerevan based think tank. He was
Read MoreANN/Groong Week in Review - August 15, 2021
Topics:
Guests:
Asbed Kotchikian is an Associate Professor of political science and international relations at the American University of Armenia.
Benyamin Poghosyan is the chairman of the Center For Political and Economic Strategic Studies, a Yerevan based think tank. He was
Read MoreArmenian Foreign policy Between War and Peace A Conversation with Dr. Pietro Shakarian and Yeghia Tashjian
Topics:
Guests
Hosts:
Episode 80 | Recorded: July 21, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/CoG-20210722.html
Armenian Foreign policy Between War and Peace A Conversation with Dr. Pietro Shakarian and Yeghia Tashjian
Topics:
Guests
Hosts:
Episode 80 | Recorded: July 21, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/CoG-20210722.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - July 18, 2021
Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 79 | Recorded: July 19, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210718.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - July 18, 2021
Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 79 | Recorded: July 19, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210718.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - June 20, 2021 Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 74 | Recorded: June 20, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210620.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - June 20, 2021 Topics:
Guests:
Hosts:
Episode 74 | Recorded: June 20, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210620.html
Analyzing Party Platforms in June 20 Parliamentary Elections
A Conversation with Robert Markarian
Guest:
Robert Markarian was born in Iran and has university education in physics and law. For 25 years, he has worked as a host, editor, and analyst on Armenian Radio Hour in Iranâs public radio and television. He has cooperated articles covering Armenia and Artsakh in Armenian, Persian, and English published by Iranian and Armenian sites and analytical centers.
Topics:
Conversation in English and Armenian
Analyzing Party Platforms in June 20 Parliamentary Elections
A Conversation with Robert Markarian
Guest:
Robert Markarian was born in Iran and has university education in physics and law. For 25 years, he has worked as a host, editor, and analyst on Armenian Radio Hour in Iranâs public radio and television. He has cooperated articles covering Armenia and Artsakh in Armenian, Persian, and English published by Iranian and Armenian sites and analytical centers.
Topics:
Conversation in English and Armenian
Armenia, Superpowers and The New Cold War
A Conversation with:
Guest:
Topics
Hosts:
Episode 68 | Recorded: June 4, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/CoG-20210608.html