Pashinyan doesn't give Putin floor at Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting

Today's meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St Petersburg, during which Armenia was supposed to hand over the SEEC chairmanship to Belarus, was roiled by a scandal: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not give Russian President Vladimir Putin the floor, grossly violating the protocol.

This year Armenia assumed the chairmanship of the SEEC, due to which Nikol Pashinyan chaired the formal part of the meeting.

Welcoming the heads of the EEU states, as well as special guests - President of Moldova Igor Dodon and honorary chairman of the EEU Nursultan Nazarbayev, Pashinyan did not give the floor to head of the host country Vladimir Putin, but announced the procedure of signing the agreed documents.

"Let's start the procedure of signing documents," he said.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko addressed him with the words "Nikol Vovaevich," pointing to Vladimir Putin.

Pashinyan tried to correct himself and said: "And also the floor is given to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Pyu ... Putin. No?"

But the Russian president refused to speak after such a violation of the protocol. "No, thank you very much. Let's sign," Vladimir Putin said.

After that, Lukashenko took the floor as the head of the country assuming the SEEC chairmanship.