YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. The statements over the issue of the appointment of the CSTO Secretary General at this stage do not contribute to finding a solution that will be based on consensus and acceptable for all sides, Armenian foreign ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan said in response to ARMENPRESS inquiry.

-How would you comment on the statement of Stanislav Zas, a candidate of Belarus for the CSTO Secretary General, on making a decision with limited staff and not having a meeting with the Armenian side?

-Given that important consultations are being held between the member states, statements and comments at this stage do not contribute to finding a solution that will be on a legal base, based on the consensus of all 6 member states and acceptable for all sides.

On February 7 Stanislav Zas announced that the CSTO rules of procedure enables to make a decision over the appointment of the Secretary General with a limited staff, but this is not the best option. Such decisions are being adopted based on consensus. In addition, the Belarusian candidate stated that he is ready to meet with the Armenian side, but has not received a response from Yerevan yet.

On November 2, 2018, Armenia’s Yuri Khachaturov was dismissed from the position of the CSTO Secretary General after Armenia applied to the CSTO member states to launch the process of recalling him as criminal case was filed against Khachaturov over the 2008 March 1 unrest in Yerevan. 

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan