Yury Khachaturov General of the (CSTO) returns to Armenia

The former Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Yury Khachaturov, who was removed from office on 2 November, has returned to Armenia, the Zhoghovurd (People) newspaper reported on Thursday citing sources.

Khachaturov was relieved from his post as CSTO Secretary General at the initiative of the Armenian government since he was charged with overthrowing the country’s constitutional order during the 2008 crackdown. Khachaturov, who led the Yerevan garrison of the Armenian Armed Forces at the time, said that he is not pleading guilty. The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction released Khachaturov on his own recognizance on 28 July after he paid a bail of 5 mln drams ($10,000).

In early August, Khachaturov was permitted to come to Moscow to continue his job as Secretary General of the CSTO. Head of Armenia’s Special Investigation Service, Sasun Khachatryan, told reporters earlier in November that Khachaturov hadn’t been called in for questioning since his departure to Russia.

The meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the CSTO Security Council will take place in Astana on November 8-9, at which the candidacy of a new CSTO head will be discussed. Yerevan says that Armenia should retain the post in line with the rotating principle, which suggests that the Republic’s representative should head the organization until 2020.