председатель Национального собрания Армении Рубен Рубинян.
Armenian Ambassador to Belarus Razmik Khumaryan will remain in Yerevan until the Armenian side receives an explanation or apology from Minsk over Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s remarks about the war in Nagorno-Karabakh in autumn 2020. Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly Ruben Rubinyan said this during a parliamentary plenary session, Armenpress reported.
Rubinyan raised the issue after opposition Strong Armenia faction MP Edgar Ghazaryan asked Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Ghazaryan how long the Armenian ambassador would remain in Yerevan for consultations.
The parliamentary speaker considered the wording and tone of the question inappropriate.
“I want to continue on this topic that has left me astonished, because I think something very strange happened in this chamber. The Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs reports on the issue, and in that context, one of the leaders of Strong Armenia asks him, sarcastically, how long the ambassador of Armenia to Belarus whom you have summoned for consultations will remain [in Yerevan], saying, ‘Tell us so that we know,’,” Rubinyan said.
According to him, he was surprised that such an attitude was being demonstrated by a member of the Armenian parliament and a representative of the largest opposition faction.
“I was genuinely astonished on the spot that a member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, or the largest opposition faction in the Armenian Parliament, could have such an attitude,” he said.
Rubinyan recalled that Khumaryan was recalled from Minsk for consultations in June 2024 following Lukashenka’s remarks about the 44-day war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“Do you know why Armenia’s ambassador to Belarus was summoned for consultations? After the president of Belarus publicly stated that they had planned the 44-day war together with Azerbaijan. Belarus is a country that is a member of the CSTO, a member of the same defense structure as us,” the parliamentary speaker said.
He stressed that the decision to keep the ambassador in Yerevan was a direct reaction by the Armenian authorities to Lukashenka’s words.
“In response to that, Armenia’s ambassador to Belarus was summoned for consultations. And yes, the consultations will last until we hear an explanation or an apology. It is clear—they will last that long,” Rubinyan said.
The diplomatic conflict was triggered by Lukashenka’s remarks during his visit to Azerbaijan in May 2024. Addressing Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, he recalled their conversations before the outbreak of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh in autumn 2020.
“I thought about it again and remembered our conversation before the war, before your liberation war, when we philosophically discussed it over lunch together. At the time, we came to the conclusion that it was possible to win the war. That is important. It is very important to hold on to that victory,” Lukashenka said.
He also said that Minsk was ready to help Azerbaijan rebuild the territories that had come under Baku’s control.
In Yerevan, his remarks were interpreted as confirmation that the Belarusian leader had known in advance about Azerbaijan’s intentions to launch a military operation and supported those plans. In his current remarks, Rubinyan formulated the accusation even more strongly, saying that Belarus and Azerbaijan had “planned” the war together.
At the same time, Lukashenka himself publicly spoke about his prewar discussions with Aliyev and the conclusion they had reached that Azerbaijan could win. He did not claim that they had jointly prepared a specific military plan.
Armenia recalled Razmik Khumaryan to Yerevan for consultations on June 13, 2024. On the same day, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he would not travel to Belarus while Lukashenka was leading the country.
“I declare that from now on I will never go to Belarus again while Aliaksandr Lukashenka is president there. And in general, no official representative of Armenia will visit Belarus,” Pashinyan said in parliament.
He linked this position not only to Lukashenka’s remarks but also to Yerevan’s grievances against the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Pashinyan accused CSTO member states of failing to fulfill their obligations to ensure Armenia’s security and effectively supporting Azerbaijan.
In response, Belarus’ Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to Armenia for consultations. Minsk described Pashinyan’s statements as an attempt to divert attention from domestic political problems and stressed that Belarus did not intend to worsen relations with the Armenian people.
The conflict also surfaced in December 2024 during a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. Lukashenka invited Pashinyan to attend the next meeting in Minsk, but the Armenian prime minister replied that he would participate by video link. After Lukashenka offered to send a plane to pick him up, Pashinyan reminded him that he had already publicly explained his position on trips to Belarus.
Armenia formally remains a member of the CSTO, but has frozen its participation in the organization’s work and does not send representatives to its meetings. Yerevan says this is because the military-political bloc failed to respond adequately to appeals from the Armenian side during the confrontation with Azerbaijan.
Khumaryan was appointed Armenia’s ambassador to Belarus in September 2021. After being recalled for consultations in summer 2024, he did not return to Minsk.