CSTO members to consider action against Armenia over unpaid fees, Lavrov says

CSTO member states have agreed to consider applying a provision of the organisation's charter to Armenia after Yerevan failed to pay membership fees for more than two years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Report informs, citing Russian media, that Lavrov made the remarks at a press conference in Kazan following a meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers.

Lavrov said Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan had recently stated, while commenting on Armenia's membership in the CSTO, that the country was not paying contributions and was not taking part in the organisation's work.

"We discussed today what should be done in this situation. Armenia has had arrears to the CSTO budget for more than two years. Today we agreed to look into applying the relevant article of the CSTO charter," Lavrov said.

He also said Armenia's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union had become an urgent issue after the country adopted a law that envisages joining the European Union in the future.

"Armenia has already adopted a law on accession to the EU, so the issue has become very direct. This will, of course, have to be dealt with promptly," Lavrov said.