Marianna Mkrtchyan. The CSTO is discussing the appointment of State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Stanislav Zas to the post of the organization's Secretary General, but the final decision will be made by the leaders of the alliance countries on November 8 in Astana, Kommersant writes with reference to its sources.

At the same time, the publication emphasizes that the intrigue around this appointment lies in the fact that Armenia claims the vacant post, thanks to which this issue was raised.

Diplomatic sources of Kommersant in the three countries of the organization say that the representative of Belarus will most likely become the new secretary general for the next three years.

As one of the interviewees told Kommersant, first it was suggested that Mr. Semerikov be appointed an acting officer for a year and a half – that is, for a period that Yuri Khachaturov was to work. However, according to the source, it was decided to appoint a full-fledged head of the secretariat. At the same time, he says, it was decided to be guided by the principle of rotation. According to him, after Armenia, the secretary general should be appointed by Belarus, following the alphabet.

The most likely candidate for the post of Secretary General, an informed source of '' Kommersant '' called the State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Stanislav Zas. Since November 4, 2015, the 54-year- old Major-General Zas has headed the Belarusian Security Council and is well acquainted with the work of the CSTO: he is a member of the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the alliance.

Mr. Zas in 1985 graduated from the Baku Higher All-Arms Command School, in 1996 – the Military Academy of Belarus, and in 2005 – the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. He served in various positions in the armed forces, and in August 2008 he was appointed deputy secretary of state of the Belarusian Security Council. Calling Stanislav Zas the most likely candidate for the post of the CSTO Secretary General, the Kommersant interlocutor stressed: the leaders of the organization's member countries will have the last word. The heads of the CSTO member countries (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan) will gather In Astana on November 8 for a session of the Collective Security Council. It is expected that at the session the issue of the appointment of a new head of the CSTO secretariat will be finally solved. To note, both of the previous CSTO Secretary Generals before joining the organization worked as secretaries of the Security Council of their countries. Nikolai Bordyuzha (headed the CSTO secretariat from 2003 to 2017) headed the Russian Security Council in 1998-1999, and Yuri Khachaturov, who replaced him, headed the Armenian Security Council from October 2016 until his appointment as CSTO Secretary General in April last year.

It is noteworthy that Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan told reporters on November 2 that Yerevan is ready to show flexibility regarding Secretary General. Mnatsakanyan noted that if another candidate is proposed, Armenia will consider its effectiveness in this post.