Armenian parliament explains non-participation in CSTO Council of Defense Ministers meeting with technical issues

YEREVAN. May 25 (Interfax) - The absence of Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan from a meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Minsk on Thursday is unrelated to Armenia-CSTO relations, secretary of the parliamentary faction of the ruling Civil Contract party Artur Hovhannisyan said.

"The fact that the Armenian defense minister is not present at the meeting has no connection to the relations between Armenia and the CSTO. There is no political comment on that. I think this is caused by various technical issues," Hovhannisyan told reporters.

Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Aram Torosyan told Interfax earlier on Thursday that Papikyan did not go to Minsk for a meeting of the CSTO Council of Defense Ministers.

The CSTO comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.