President of the Standing Committee on European Integration Naira Zohrabyan asked Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Karen Nazaryan during the National Assembly session discussing the 2019 budget if the CSTO summit will take place on November 8th and if a vote will be held on the candidate for the position of CSTO Secretary General because the quota belongs to Armenia at the moment. Karen Nazaryan replied, “The CSTO secretary’s office issued a statement regarding Khachaturov being recalled and his temporary replacement. You know that the CSTO Secretary General issue is being discussed by the CSTO committee led by Foreign Affairs Ministers. The issue is far from being resolve. All consultations that are taking place are regarding this issue. The discussions that will be held on the 8th are closed, so we have to wait for the results.”
Karen Nazaryan also spoke about John Bolton’s announcement regarding sanctions against Iran and the expected reaction from other countries in the region. Naira Zohrabyan said that there is fear that Armenia will become an island. Iran has strategic importance for Armenia and for other countries in the region. “The issue of international sanctions against Iran is a sensitive one for us and Armenia has shown its full support for mutual comprehensive agreements that were made between Iran and other states. It is essential for us that we continue to have positive relations with neighboring countries.”
Hripsime Jebejyan
