World: Video of Vladimir Putin Dropping Pen During Meeting Viewed 1 Million Times

A video of Russian President Vladimir Putin dropping his pen during a meeting at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Yerevan, Armenia, has gone viral on Twitter.

© Contributor/Getty Images L-R: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon, Russian President Vladimir Putin and SCTO Secretary-General Stanislav Zas seen during the welcoming ceremony on November 23, 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia. Leaders of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan arrived to Yerevan to participate in the Summit of CSTO.

The 10-second clip, shared by Anton Gerashchenko, the adviser to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine, on Thursday, had been viewed more than 1.2 million times at the time of writing.

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It appears to show the moment when Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced at the CSTO summit on Wednesday that he wouldn't be signing a draft joint declaration of the Russian-dominated alliance of former Soviet nations.

The six members of CSTO are: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Russia.

"I am closing the meeting, thank you very much. Thank you very much," Pashinyan said, before he began to rise from his seat.

Nikol Pashinyan refused to sign a declaration following the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit.

In fact, it means that the CSTO has collapsed completely.

Putin dropped his pen, Lukashenko is shocked. pic.twitter.com/lqPwusW4Gi

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 24, 2022

Putin proceeded to drop his pen on the table in front of him, while a seemingly shocked Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko looked on.

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"Nikol Pashinyan refused to sign a declaration following the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit. In fact, it means that the CSTO has collapsed completely. Putin dropped his pen, Lukashenko is shocked," tweeted Gerashchenko.

Pashinyan said he didn't sign the draft joint declaration because it didn't include a statement about neighboring Azerbaijan, which he accused of "aggression" against his nation's territorial integrity.

Azerbaijan and Armenia, both former members of the Soviet Union, began fighting at their shared border in September. Both nations blame the other for the clashes, and for violating a cease-fire agreement. The conflict is the worst that the two rival ex-Soviet republics in the Caucasus have engaged in since 2020, when thousands were killed.

Earlier this year, Armenia was unsuccessful in its attempt to invoke the CSTO's collective-defense provision.

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The families of drafted Russian soldiers are growing more critical as Vladimir Putin's military operations in Ukraine drag on.Experts have told Insider nuclear weapons are still unlikely to be deployed in combat, a move that would put Russia at risk of alienating its allies and its own people. Nor have experts seen evidence of Russia preparing a strike.

"These are very important issues. We should consult on issues that will ensure long-term peace in the region," he told the leaders of the CSTO member states.

"Right up to today we have not managed to reach a decision on a CSTO response to Azerbaijan's aggression against Armenia," Pashinyan said. "These facts do grave harm to the image of the CSTO both inside our country and outside its borders."

Pashinyan and Putin met of the sidelines of the CSTO summit, after the Armenian prime minister refused to put his name to the document, the Kremlin said.

Another clip from the CSTO summit that circulated on Twitter appeared to show Pashinyan distancing himself from Putin in a group photo.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry for comment.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about Armenia? Let us know via [email protected]

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