On May 25, Aram Torosyan, the Press Secretary of the Armenian Ministry of Defense, reported that Armenia at the Council of Ministers of Defense (CMD) meeting of the states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Minsk is represented by Artak Tonoyan, the delegate of the military department of the republic in the Joint Headquarters of the CSTO. 

According to him, Defense Minister Suren Papikyan did not go to Minsk; he is taking part in a meeting of the country's government.

The participants of the CSTO CMD meeting in the Belarusian capital discussed the challenges and security threats in the member states and issues of improving the crisis response system.

Speaking at a meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Minsk on the same day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated the importance of the participation of the Armenian side in joint operational and combat training activities within the framework of the CSTO.

"Armenia is a member of our organization, our ally. We are interested in establishing peace and are doing everything possible to stabilize the situation in Transcaucasia. At the same time, I would like to especially note the importance of the participation of the Armenian side in joint operational and combat training activities within the framework of the CSTO," the head of the military said.

Moreover, at a briefing in the National Assembly of the republic on the same day, Artur Hovhannisyan, the Secretary of the Parliamentary Faction of the ruling Civil Contract party, stated that Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan did not participate in the meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers (CMO) of the Collective Security Treaty Organization for technical rather than political reasons.

"We have been talking about Armenia-CSTO relations in sufficient detail in recent days. The non-participation of Suren Papikyan in such an event has nothing to do with Armenia-CSTO relations," the parliamentarian assured.

Hovhannisyan admitted that he was not privy to the details. However, he is more than sure that this is not a political issue, but, most likely, it is connected with various issues of a technical nature. The pro-government MP also noted that this is not at all a demonstration by Armenia of its attitude towards the organization of which it is a member.