Lukashenko in a sharp manner revealed his position on Armenia, Belarusian expert says

Head of the Center for Studying the Prospects of EAEU Integration (Minsk) Dmitry Belyakov commented to Alpha News on the meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the statements of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko about Armenia.

According to the expert, Lukashenko, in his rather harsh manner, revealed the essence of his position on Armenia.

“Relations between Belarus and Armenia are diplomatic and economic, as expected from two members of the CSTO, members of the Eurasian Economic Union. These relations should be considered friendly, having certain political overtones. We need to consider trade, economic relations and friendship between peoples in the first place.

As for the statements of the President of Belarus, he, in his characteristically harsh manner, revealed the essence. The essence is that Armenia is indeed in a difficult economic and geographical situation, since the main trading partner for Armenia is Russia and the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. And if Armenia, for one or another internal reason, decides to please third parties and leave integration associations—the Collective Security Treaty and the Eurasian Economic Union—then this will entail very complex economic consequences. I would say that this would be a blow not only for Armenia but also for all other members of the integration association,” the expert said.

According to Belyakov, without integration associations such as the CSTO and the Eurasian Economic Union, the economies of Armenia and Belarus will not withstand external challenges.

“Russian-Armenian relations are developing incrementally. For example, the Russian side is considering the decision of the Armenian PM not to attend the CSTO meeting within the framework of diplomatic practice. Heads of state have an absolute right to do this. At the same time, there is a question about the ratification of the decisions taken at the CSTO meeting. Armenia is now at the high-level summit of Eurasian integration in Russia. So I would consider it incremental.

Perhaps the visit to Minsk did not take place for one reason or another. I would like to emphasize that the economic, military and political independence of Belarus and Armenia is based on integration associations such as the CSTO and the Eurasian Economic Union. Because without these associations, both the economy of Belarus and the economy of Armenia will not withstand external challenges. Here, there is no big difference between the power of the economies of the two states. Conventionally, Russia is a leader, followed by the small economies of other member countries of the association,” the expert concluded.