Armenian Ambassador to Belarus Razmik Khumaryan Did Not Return to Minsk After Being Recalled to Armenia
Razmik Khumaryan, Armenia’s ambassador to Belarus, has not returned to Minsk after being recalled to Armenia for consultations in June 2024. Since then, he has remained in Armenia.
Relations between Yerevan and Minsk have been significantly strained. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan previously stated that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had effectively admitted to providing assistance to Azerbaijan. The Armenian Prime Minister has also banned officials from traveling to Belarus as long as Lukashenko remains president.
Razmik Khumaryan was appointed as Armenia’s ambassador to Belarus on September 13, 2021.
Tensions escalated further when Lukashenko visited Fizuli and later Shushi in May of this year. During his visit, an agreement was made for Minsk to take on the construction of a settlement in the Aghdam region. According to Belarusian Minister of Architecture and Construction Ruslan Parkhamovich, the project involves the creation of an agro-town designed to accommodate 420 families.
In October, Lukashenko, during a meeting with Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov, stated, “We will do everything for Azerbaijan. This has always been the case, and it will continue to be so. I am confident that Azerbaijan will also do everything it can for us.”
The cooling of Armenia-Belarus relations was once again evident on December 26 at the Eurasian Economic Supreme Council meeting. During the session, held in St. Petersburg, there were mutual barbs exchanged between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who participated via video conference, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.