CSTO Secretary-General Khachaturov Dismissed At Armenia's Request - Statement

Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Yuri Khachaturov was dismissed on Friday at the request of Armenia, while his deputy, Valery Semerikov, became acting head of the organization, the CSTO said in a statement.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd November, 2018) Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Yuri Khachaturov was dismissed on Friday at the request of Armenia, while his deputy, Valery Semerikov, became acting head of the organization, the CSTO said in a statement.

In July, Khachaturov was charged with overthrowing the country's constitutional order during the 2008 opposition rallies. According to media reports, Khachaturov was the commander of the Yerevan garrison and participated in suppressing the protests. The next day, a court in Yerevan released the CSTO head on bail. On Thursday, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian said that Yerevan was likely to recall Khachaturov from the post of the CSTO secretary-general.

"In line with the established order, the procedure of early dismissal of representative of the Republic of Armenia Yuri Khachaturov from the post of secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization initiated by the Armenian side has been completed.

The decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council released Khachaturov from the post of the organization's secretary-general," the statement said.

CSTO deputy head Valery Semerikov has become the acting chair of the organization, the statement added.

CSTO is an international alliance focused on military cooperation. The list of full members includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Khachaturov has been the secretary general of the organization since May last year.