CSTO operational management not in limbo, Kremlin spokesman says
The operational management of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is not in limbo, despite the lack of consensus on the appointment of a new CSTO general secretary, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, according to Sputnik news agency report.
"Neither the Kremlin nor any of the other CSTO members are frustrated, and there is no operational leadership vacuum in the CSTO because, as you know, there is an acting secretary general who will perform the duties. This person is not a stranger, and he will perform his responsibilities until the situation with the new secretary general is resolved," Peskov told reporters, asked about discussions around agreeing on the new CSTO leadership.
The spokesman confirmed that some disagreements around the election of a new CSTO chief persisted. "Indeed, there are some disagreements among the members that are currently being settled; this process is ongoing,” Peskov said, as quoted by the agency.
To remind, 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.
In late December, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a draft decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council on the appointment of Stanislav Zas as CSTO secretary general.