Monday, November 5 2018 12:01

ArmInfo. Yerevan has not commented yet on the issue of the loss of the post of the CSTO Secretary General. Thus, the Spokesperson of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna  Naghdalyan at the request of the ArmInfo correspondent to comment on  the information spread in the media that the position is likely to be  given to Belarus by rotation and headed by its Head of Security  Council Stanislav Zas, in particular, said: "Question of the new  Secretary General of the CSTO is at the stage of consultations that  are confidential. While respecting this principle, we cannot provide  additional information so as not to harm these discussions. "

ArmInfo also learned that this issue will be on the agenda of the  CSTO Ministerial Council in Astana on November 7, and the final  decision will be made on November 8 at a meeting of the heads of  state of the Organization's members.

To note, Kommersant, citing its sources, reported that the CSTO is  discussing the appointment of Head of Security Council of Belarus  Stanislav Zas as Secretary General of the CSTO, but the leaders of  the Alliance countries will make the final decision on November 8 in  Astana. As one of the interviewees told Kommersant, it was first  suggested that Mr. Semerikov be appointed an acting officer for a  year and a half - that is, for a period that Yuri Khachaturov was to  work. However, according to the source, it was decided to appoint a  full-fledged head of the secretariat. At the same time, he says, it  was decided to be guided by the principle of rotation. According to  him, after Armenia, the secretary general should be appointed by  Belarus, following the alphabet.

To note, Khachaturov left this post on November 2 at the request of  Armenia.

To recall, CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov is accused of  overthrowing the constitutional order in the so-called "March 1, 2008  case." At that time he held the post of the head of the Yerevan  garrison. By a court decision of July 28, he was arrested and then  released on bail in the amount of 5 million drams. The second  Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is also accused within the same  case, as well as the former head of the Ministry of Defense of  Armenia Mikael Harutyunyan who is on the wanted list. On August 2,  the Special Investigative Service stated that the measure of  restraint chosen against Yuri Khachaturov is not an obstacle for him  to leave Armenia for some time. At the same time, the SIS did not  detail the permissible period of his absence.  Official Yerevan  proposed CSTO counterparts to consider the possibility of replacing  the CSTO Secretary General from Armenia in connection with the  criminal prosecution of Yuri Khachaturov.