MINSK, 10 December (BelTA) – It is expected that the decision on the appointment of the new secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will be made before the end of 2018, Press Secretary of the Belarus President Natalya Eismont said in an interview to the Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA has learned.
“The debate was heated on the issue. As far as I know, arguments were being flung back and forth. Apologies were extended later on. Due to the storm of emotions all the leaders had to extend apologies to each other,” said the press secretary.
Natalya Eismont also specified how the decision on appointing a new CSTO secretary general will be implemented. She said: “Everything will be done in strict compliance with the organization's charter. As of today it has been decided that the decision on appointing the CSTO secretary general will be signed by the heads of state in a routine manner. It will be done like this: the candidate – Belarus' representative – will go to each CSTO member state one by one starting with Kyrgyzstan, which presides now, so that the heads of state could have kind of an interview with him.” If the “interview” is positive, the president of the CSTO member state will sign the appointment papers.
“As for the quorum – as far as I know, the president of Kazakhstan mentioned it – if some country chooses not to sign some decision, then the charter allows the country not to comply with the decision,” added the press secretary. What was defined by the heads of state unequivocally and supported by everyone, including the president of Russia, is that this issue should be resolved before the end of 2018. The mechanism, which I have just described, was suggested by our president. It was also supported,” Natalya Eismont added.
