November 22, 2018 - 11:17 AMT
Armenia President sacks permanent rep at CSTO, appoints new envoy

At the suggestion of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Armen Sarkissian has recalled Davit Virabyan from the post of Armenia’s permanent representative at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

According to Sarkissian’s office, the President has already signed a corresponding decree.

By another decree, the Armenian leader has appointed Victor Biyagov as the country’s permanent representative at the organization.

Biyagov served as the head of the Department of Foreign Relations of Armenia’s parliament.

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.