The deal has raised questions of conflict of interest in a government that has made a priority of prosecuting corruption among members of the former regime.
The leaders of the organization's member states met in Astana, and they -- led by Kazakhstan's Nursultan Nazarbayev -- appeared to be leaning toward letting Belarus take over ahead of schedule.
The political opposition used the conference as a political weapon against Pashinyan, and organizers lamented the indifference of the police after they received threats.