Armenia refuses to sign CIS agreements at summit in Russia

Armenia has refused to endorse two statements adopted at the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held in Moscow.

The meeting was attended by Armenia’s Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, on Monday.

That evening, an Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced that Armenia had not joined the two statements adopted earlier that day. They did not provide any details behind their decision.

The first statement adopted focused on the principles of cooperation in ensuring security in Eurasia, and advocated for the ‘adaptation of the Eurasian architecture of interaction in the areas of security, economics, culture, and other spheres to multipolar realities’.

The second statement — on the inadmissibility of the use of unilateral restrictive measures in international relations — recommended that member states refrain from adopting, extending, or applying such measures. 

The statement defined unilateral measures as ‘a coercive nature taken by a state, group or association of states in violation of the UN Charter, including the application of pressure in any form, be it political, legal, financial or economic, with the aim of forcing another state to change its policy, thereby leading to the emergence of costs and damage for this state and those who support its political course’. 

The adoption of the second statement occurred against the backdrop of Western sanctions applied to Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

In addition to adopting these two statements, the foreign ministers of CIS member states exchanged views on current issues on the international agenda and approved multiple action plans. They also decided to hold the next ministerial council meeting on 11 April 2025 in Kazakhstan.

During the meeting, Mirzoyan highlighted regional stability and security issues affecting Armenia. He addressed key recent developments regarding the regulation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, particularly the signing of a peace treaty.

He also addressed the decision to grant the honorary title of Cultural Capital of the CIS to the city of Meghri in Syunik in 2026, highlighting the city’s rich cultural heritage. 

Next year, the title will be held by Lachin, which came under Azerbaijani control after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.  

The meeting of foreign ministers took place ahead of the meeting of the leaders of the CIS countries, which took place on Tuesday.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are both expected to take part in the CIS summit. 

Aliyev has already held a separate bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss issues of normalising relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Pashinyan is expected to meet with Putin shortly afterwards to discuss the same topic. It is yet unclear if Pashinyan and Aliyev will meet on the sidelines of the summit. 

Tensions between Armenia and Russia have increased since 2022,  with Armenia boycotting most CIS and Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) sessions. While still maintaining a frozen status in the CSTO, Armenia in September confirmed its participation in a BRICS summit this October and another CIS summit in Moscow next year.