Kremlin: CSTO summit pushed back at Armenia's requestDecember 4, 2018 - 17:57 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The summit of leaders of member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), scheduled for December 6, was canceled at the request of Armenia, which is preparing for elections,aide to the Russian President Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday, December 4. Acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed postponing the summit. "Given, in particular, the request by the Armenian side referring to the campaign which ends with elections on December 9, it was decided that the CSTO [summit] meeting should not be held [on December 6]," he said. According to the Kremlin representative, Valery Semerikov thus remains the acting Secretary General of the CSTO. 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. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. Ex-President: Only removal of “defeatist” rulers can save Armenia Former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has shared a message on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Pashinyan: We must stop searching for homeland, we have found that homeland Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has shared a message on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. |