Protesters call for Armenian withdrawal from CSTO

Over a hundred people marched through the center of Yerevan Saturday demanding that Armenia renounces its membership of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.

The protesters believe membership in the Russia-dominated security alliance does not protect Armenia and have called for closer cooperation with Western countries that could help protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We have very big dissatisfaction with the CSTO organization, which cannot help Armenia at all, does not work in the interests of its member country and supports Erdogan and Aliyev," one of the protesters said.

It came as a U.S. congressional delegation headed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi arrived in the country on Saturday.

A cease-fire brokered held for three days after an outburst of fighting with neighboring Azerbaijan that killed more than 200 troops from both sides.

The U.S. Embassy said the visit will include a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The truce took effect on Wednesday evening following two days of heavy fighting that marked the largest outbreak of hostilities in nearly two years.

Armenia and Azerbaijan traded blame for the shelling, with Armenian authorities accusing Baku of unprovoked aggression and Azerbaijani officials saying their country was responding to Armenian attacks.