Armenia Acting PM to Demand Explanations from Belarus, Kazakhstan Presidents

• 11.17.2018, 11:27
•  World,  Armenia

Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will demand explanations from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for discussing the present-day situation at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) with the ambassador of Azerbaijan, a non-member country of this organization.

“I’m astonished that a man who has been in the status of the head of a state for thirty years can allow himself [to take] such a move,” Pashinyan on Friday told reporter. “And of course, I shall demand clarifications from the president of Belarus; and not just from the president of Belarus.”

The acting PM of Armenia said he will demand explanations also from Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev for making a statement contrary to the overall arrangements, especially for the fact that, after the closed meeting of the CSTO summit, Nazarbayev had stated that the Belarusian representative would be appointed as the new CSTO Secretary General, News.am reports.

“No one had the right to make such a statement because decisions at the CSTO are made by consensus, and we [Armenia] have clearly expressed our position,” Pashinyan said. “It’s very important that we have a very clear conversation with the allies within the framework of the CSTO, and that it be clear to each and every one of the sides as to what obligation it has toward the others.”

Armenia’s acting PM added that this matter was discussed also during his telephonic conversation on the same day with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that Armenia continues the discourse with its CSTO partners so that they ultimately reach mutual understanding.