[Armenian News note: the below is translated from Russian]

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka (Alexander Lukashenko) has signed a draft decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council appointing Stanislaw Zas as secretary-general of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).

At a meeting with Stanislaw Zas, secretary-general of the Belarusian Security Council, broadcast by the state-owned Belarus 24 TV channel on 21 December, Lukashenka said: "I chose Zas's candidacy to show, if I may say so, an example that it is time for us in this organisation to move on from formal appointments of former, retired generals – I do not want to say anything bad about them – to serving young and promising generals in order to add importance to this organisation."

Zas has already visited Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Russia, where his appointment as CSTO secretary-general has been approved by the respective heads of state, the report said.

While speaking with journalists, Zas said that he was ready to travel to Armenia to discuss "problems they see in the organisation" with the Armenian authorities.

The post of the CSTO secretary-general has been vacant since Armenia withdrew its representative Yuri Khachaturov. Armenia intended to propose another candidate for the job, but Belarus insists that its representative should become the organisation's new secretary-general because Armenia is followed alphabetically by Belarus. The CSTO rules of procedure did not have a clear provision as to what should happen if a country recalls its representative.

The CSTO, a military and political organisation, includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.