Defense minister rules out election of CSTO Secretary General without Armenia’s participation

Armenian defense minister Davit Tonoyan rules out the possibility that the CSTO Secretary General can be elected without Armenia’s participation to this process.

“This is an appointment of a Secretary General, is not a decision, a task to make tactical or operative-tactical decision. This is a strategic issue, an issue of appointing a Secretary General. How is it possible to elect or appoint a Secretary General without one member of an alliance? It is not permitted by the Rules of Procedure”, the minister told reporters today.

Davit Tonoyan said the ministry has already expressed its opinion on the election of the CSTO Secretary General, and at the moment other bodies are dealing with the issue.

“At the moment the foreign ministry is carrying out respective works in the CSTO. The CSTO Secretariat in its turn conducts respective activities. Armenia’s defense ministry has already expressed its opinion”, the minister said.

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. CSTO Deputy Secretary General Valery Semerikov temporarily assumed the duties of the CSTO Secretary General.