Фото: МИД
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has responded to comments by Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan, who described Belarus as a province of Russia.
“Either you must be Armenia to have balanced relations with both Russia and others, or you must be a periphery, or Belarus. We will not sell our independence. We will not become a province. That cannot happen, it has no price,” Simonyan said.
Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ruslan Varankou described Simonyan’s statement as populism.
“The statements by the Armenian parliament speaker are nothing more than pre-election populism and a desperate attempt to distract his electorate from severe internal problems.
When poverty is surging, already exceeding 40% at the upper threshold, unemployment is rising, and entire regions are stagnating, it is easiest to appoint an ‘external enemy’ and engage in offensive labelling. Such a cynical approach can only evoke regret,” Varankou said.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry representative called Simonyan’s remarks a violation of diplomatic ethics and stressed that Belarus is proud of its relations with Russia.
“Belarus is a sovereign state that independently determines the format of its allied relations with Russia. We are proud of this cooperation and will not allow anyone to lecture us. Attempts to drag Minsk into domestic political disputes under slogans of mythical interference are a грубое violation of basic diplomatic ethics,” Varankou said.
Varankou accused Armenia of lacking foreign policy independence and expressed hope that the country’s leadership would return to “constructive dialogue” with Belarus.
“The results of the so-called ‘balanced’ pro-Western course of official Yerevan are evident: depopulation, chronic economic instability and complete foreign policy dependence, forcing it to serve others’ summits in a puppet-like manner.
We clearly distinguish between the brotherly Armenian people and its short-sighted representatives of power. Belarusians and Armenians are bound by strong historical ties, and we are convinced that sooner or later Armenia’s leadership will heed common sense and return to constructive dialogue with our country so that our states once again become truly friendly and strategic partners,” the Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.