Belarusian candidate recommended to hold post of CSTO head for three years - Lavrov

BISHKEK, May 22. /TASS/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Foreign Ministers Council recommends appointing Belarusian Security Secretary Stanislav Zas to the position of CSTO secretary general for a three-year period stipulated by the organization’s regulation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the outcomes of the council’s session. "A decision has been made to recommend Mr. Zas, the Belarusian Security Council Secretary, for the position of CSTO secretary general to the heads of state for a three-year period starting January 1, 2020," he said. The position of CSTO secretary general remains vacant since November 2, 2018, when at the initiative of Armenia, former CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov was removed from his post. When the candidacy of Zas was first presented, Armenia did not give its consent to his appointment to the position. Top diplomats of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have taken part in the CSTO Foreign Ministers Council held in Bishkek on Wednesday. The Russian delegation is headed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The collective security treaty was signed on May 15, 1992 in Tashkent, and the agreement on the establishment of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was inked on October 7, 2002. As of now, the organization includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Read more