Armenian leader snubs summit of Moscow-led security alliance

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia’s leader says he will not take part in next week’s summit of a Moscow-led security alliance, the latest in a series of moves suggesting a growing strain in relations with longtime ally Russia. A statement from the office of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he informed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that he would not attend the Nov. 23 summit of the Collective Treaty Security Organization in the Belarusian capital, but did not give details. The CSTO is made up of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, along with Armenia and Belarus. Since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Russia have been allies and Armenia hosts a Russian military base, but rifts have widened over the past year.