Kremlin regrets Armenia's absence from CSTO meeting in Minsk

Russia regrets the absence of Armenian representatives at the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Minsk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

The attendees of the CSTO summit exchanged views on Armenia's recent steps towards the security alliance, Peskov told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.

"Of course, the CSTO is interested in Armenia continuing its participation. We hope Armenia does not change the vector of its foreign policy, Armenia remains our ally, our strategic partner -- both bilaterally and in terms of interaction in multilateral formats. We will continue to talk to them," he said.

The CSTO is made up of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, along with Armenia and Belarus.