The Armenian Foreign Affairs Ministry has summoned Ambassador Razmik Ghazarian from Belarus to Yerevan for consultations. Previously, the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, stated that neither he nor any official representative of Armenia would visit Belarus as long as Alexander Lukashenko remains the country's leader.
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"The leader of one of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) admits to having participated in war preparations, supported Azerbaijan, believed in its victory, and now, I am supposed to discuss matters in the CSTO format with Belarus' leader?
I declare that henceforth, I will not visit Belarus as long as Alexander Lukashenko is president. Furthermore, I announce that no official representative of Armenia will visit Belarus," said the Armenian Prime Minister.
During a visit to Baku in mid-May, Lukashenko referred to the Nagorno-Karabakh war as "liberating" and indicated that he would discuss its outcomes with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev before the conflict. "We had a philosophical discussion over dinner. Eventually, we concluded that winning the war was possible. This is crucial. It is very important to achieve victory," stated the Belarusian leader on May 16.
On May 13, Politico reported, based on leaked documents, that from 2018 to 2022, during the escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Belarus provided weapons and military assistance to Azerbaijan. Additionally, one diplomatic communication reviewed by Politico indicated that Belarusian enterprises were actively involved “in the restoration of de-occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as well as the export of Belarusian goods and services”. Experts suggest that Belarus, being one of Russia's closest allies, is unlikely to have taken such actions without Kremlin support.
In response to Armenia's decision, Belarus recalled its ambassador, Anatoly Glaz, from Yerevan.
The territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan dates back to the late 1980s. Tensions escalated into hostilities in the fall of 2020, resulting in a six-week war that claimed over 6500 lives on both sides. The conflict was resolved through a Russian-brokered agreement, granting Azerbaijan control over a significant portion of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding areas. On September 13-14, 2022, during Azerbaijan's invasion of Armenian territory, a total of 300 soldiers were killed on both sides. Following the year's end, Azerbaijan initiated a blockade of Karabakh and on September 19, 2023, conducted an "anti-terrorist operation" culminating in the capitulation of the "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic". As of January 1, 2024, the de facto republic ceased to exist, and Azerbaijan declared its territorial integrity restored. According to Armenian sources, more than 100,000 Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh. Nikol Pashinyan accused Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of failing to act during the conflict.
