Russian President Vladimir Putin had phone conversations with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, both of whom supported the idea of holding an online summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Kremlin said Saturday.
"Support was voiced for the suggestions put forward by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to hold the CSTO Collective Security Council online in the near future. Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia, as current chair of the CSTO, will organise the event", the official statement read.
Tokayev previously requested help from Kazakhstan's allies in the CSTO (which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan), after protests against fuel price hikes escalated into violent clashes. A major riot started in the country's biggest city of Almaty, with people attacking police officers, storming the mayor's office, setting buildings on fire, and starting shootouts across the city.
CSTO peacekeeping forces during the "Unbreakable Brotherhood-2021" military drills in Kazan, Russia.
© Sputnik / Maxim Bogodvid
/ The CSTO countries are sending their peacekeeping forces to guard strategic objects in Kazakhstan, while the local law enforcement agencies and the military re-establish order.
Asked whether a certain date for the video summit was known, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik: "Not yet". He added that Armenia would organise the conference, as Yerevan holds the rotating presidency.