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

A tightly-scripted meeting of the Russia-dominated economic alliance of several ex-Soviet nations briefly went awry Thursday when two leaders engaged in bickering during a live broadcast of the event. 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 Moscow and forge closer relations with the West, joined the meeting via video link after canceling his trip following a positive test for COVID-19.