Alexander Pracht
By Alexander Pracht
Armenia and Belarus have entered another round of diplomatic tensions following remarks by Armenian parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan. The exchange comes four weeks before Armenia’s nationwide elections, amid broader concerns in Yerevan about external pressure.
Speaking in an interview on Friday with TV Channel 1, Simonyan accused Russia of attempting to interfere with Armenia’s domestic political developments.
“In Ukraine they're using military means, and in Armenia they're seeking a political plot trying to seize power. They're using our democracy against us. […] We won't allow Armenia to become a [a Russian] province. We won't be governed like Belarus," Simonyan said.
The remarks triggered a backlash in Minsk. The Belarusian foreign ministry issued a statement on Monday, calling Simonyan’s comments undiplomatic and rejecting any criticism of its ties with Moscow.
“Belarus is a sovereign state that is free to decide how to handle its allied relations with Russia. Any attempts to drag Minsk into domestic political squabbles are a violation of basic diplomatic ethics,” ministry spokesperson Ruslan Varankou said. The ministry also lodged a formal note of protest with Armenia’s chargé d’affaires in Minsk.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Simonyan doubled down on his earlier statement and said it was Belarus’s earlier actions rather than his remarks that were harming bilateral relations.
“[Their] disrespect towards our country is what’s worsening relations, preparing for [the 2020 war] together with Azerbaijan is what’s worsening relations,” he said.
Relations between Armenia and Belarus have been strained since 2024, when Western media reports suggested that Minsk had supplied weapons to Azerbaijan before and during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, despite Armenia and Belarus both being members of a Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the time publicly criticized Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and said Armenian officials would not visit Belarus while his administration remained in power.
The tensions intensified following Lukashenko’s visit to Baku.
“I remember our conversation before the war, before your war of liberation. [...] We agreed that you could win this war, it’s very important that you come out victorious,” he told Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during the visit that came months after Azerbaijan’s one-day offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to the displacement of the region’s entire Armenian population.
Russia and Belarus are part of a supranational integration project known as the “Union State”. Government critics from both countries often describe it as a step toward restoring Soviet Union–level integration that deepens Minsk’s institutional dependence on Moscow.
Some opposition forces in Armenia have in recent years said Armenia should join that union.The government has consistently rejected such proposals, viewing them as incompatible with the country’s sovereignty and its ability to make independent decisions.
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