Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that allied forces, including troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), were invited to join the Zapad-2025 drills.
However, Defense Ministry spokesman Aram Torosyan confirmed that Armenia will not participate, Aysor.am reports.
The stated goal of the exercises is to improve the skills of commanders and staffs, strengthen cooperation between regional and coalition forces, and enhance field readiness to address peacekeeping, security, and defense tasks.
In recent months, Armenia has refrained from taking part in CSTO activities, effectively freezing its membership, citing the bloc’s failure to uphold commitments. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told parliament that Armenia has not made any missteps in its relations with Russia and has fulfilled its obligations, while “the opposite cases are numerous.”
