CSTO head denies talks on Armenia withdrawing from defense bloc

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on Thursday denied there had been talks on the withdrawal of Armenia, which did not attend the alliance's meeting in Minsk, from the defense bloc.

“There is currently no talk of the Republic of Armenia leaving the CSTO. The work of the Armenian side in the organization continues, multilateral contacts within the CSTO are ongoing,” Imangali Tasmagambetov told reporters in the Belarusian capital.

Tasmagambetov participated in the alliance's Collective Security Council meeting along with the presidents of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Armenian prime minister did not attend.

The CSTO is a Russia-led military bloc, uniting the six former Soviet countries.