December 3, 2018 - 14:46 AMT
Putin suggests postponing CSTO summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to postpone a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization slated for December 6.

Pashinyan was to travel to Moscow for the summit.

In a conversation with reporters, Pashinyan said he agreed to Putin’s proposal to continue discussions on the matter until consensus is reached.

The CSTO Collective Security Council relieved Armenia’s Yuri Khachaturov of his duties as the organization’s secretary general in late October.

On July 26, Armenia’s Special Investigative Service accused Khachaturov of overthrowing the constitutional order in 2008 and requested his arrest. Khachaturov, who was the Commander of the Armenian Armed Forces’ Yerevan Garrison back in 2008, pleaded not guilty. On July 28, the Yerevan City Court of General Jurisdiction released him on his own recognizance and a bail of about $10,000.

The heads of CSTO member countries are to appoint a new chief by consensus.