Pashinyan Provides Details to Lukashenko on the Enemy's Provoked Escalation

A meeting was held in Minsk between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The Belarusian president warmly welcomed the Armenian Prime Minister and discussed cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the resolution of related issues.

“Honestly, there are many problems in the EAEU related to the fact that we have not fulfilled what we have agreed upon. We still face significant obstacles, and there are barriers at interstate borders. Even businesses are declaring this. It seems that there are no borders, and the tension at the border is exaggerated. You don't feel it worse than I do. Therefore, there are tasks to be done. But I very much hope that the meetings of the prime ministers will give a boost to the resolution of these issues. The Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was a clear step in deepening relationships in the EAEU space. At least, I wish it to be so. There have been serious exchanges of opinions. As far as I know, you were the driving force behind that meeting,” said the Belarusian president.

According to him, Belarus and Armenia primarily face the same problems within the EAEU. “We rely on the real sector of the economy; we do not have large reserves like our other partners. Perhaps the Kyrgyz are in the same situation, although it may be slightly easier for them. We do not have hydrocarbon resources. This is more difficult for us. Even with falling prices, Kazakhstan and Russia have great opportunities. We do not have such opportunities,” noted Alexander Lukashenko.

Thanking for the warm reception, Prime Minister Pashinyan said, “I am very happy to see you. It has been a long time since we met due to the coronavirus. I hope that our work will return to normal, and we will meet regularly as planned. In today’s meeting, we heard a report on the elimination of obstacles. I can say that we have quite good results. I can cite the example of Armenia. We had to eliminate two obstacles, and we have already done that. One decision has already entered into force, and the other has been adopted but will come into force later. Russia has also eliminated two obstacles, as have our other partners. Today we listened to a report regarding ten obstacles, and in general, eight obstacles have already been effectively removed. Very important issues were also discussed regarding the participation of EAEU enterprises and organizations in government programs. We also reached quite a good decision on that issue. I am confident that this issue will be resolved as a result of today’s meeting. It was a good meeting; it was indeed prolonged, but I think it was worth working hard on the programs since specific questions were resolved. These questions interest all of us. I know there are specific questions that are particularly interesting for Belarus, and there are questions that are especially interesting for Armenia. I believe if we succeed in maintaining the political will at the current level, all issues will be resolved. We just need to work on it.”

During the meeting, the participants discussed a number of agenda issues related to Armenian-Belarusian relations and exchanged ideas on overcoming the coronavirus pandemic and finding ways out of the crisis. Prime Minister Pashinyan addressed the escalation provoked by the enemy along the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border and provided details to his Belarusian counterpart.