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The substance of the Collective security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is more important than the issue of the secretary general, acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Saturday at a briefing with reporters. In his words, the issue should be solved through consensus as the all parties should try to reach a consensus.

“As I said earlier, the post of CSTO has not been passed on Armenia permanently and secretary generals are appointed on a rotational basis. It means our term was to end at some point.
What matters to us is not the post and the status of the CSTO secretary general but the substance of the organization. More specifically, it is about clarification of mutual commitments and reaching a consensus,” the acting PM said, adding the relevant discussions are currently underway.

To remind, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko signed on Friday a draft resolution of the CSTO on appointing Stanislav Zas as the secretary general of the organization.

Earlier, the CSTO Collective Security Council relieved Armenia’s Yuri Khachaturov of his duties as the organization’s secretary general in November at the initiative of official Yerevan, following charges brought by Armenian Special Investigative Service against Khachaturov with overthrowing the constitutional order in 2008. Armenia earlier insisted on keeping the top CSTO post until 2020, however, the CSTO stated that due to the political situation in the country, it would be inappropriate to give up the post again to Armenia.