An altercation erupts at a high-level meeting of a Russia-dominated economic union

MOSCOW (AP) — A meeting of the Russia-dominated economic alliance of former Soviet nations has plunged into disarray when two of the leaders started bickering during a live broadcast. Russian President Vladimir Putin and other heads of states attended the meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has increasingly sought to phase down his country’s ties with Russia and build up closer relations with the West, joined the meeting via video link after cancelling his trip to Moscow due to a positive test for COVID-19. Pashinyan engaged in an open argument with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose country is taking the rotating chairmanship of the union from Armenia.