Lukashenko's Alleged Comments About Pashinyan Are False: Source Revealed

In recent days, media and social networks have been actively spreading alleged comments attributed to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, suggesting that he called Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan a 'gnida' (dirty traitor). CivilNet reports this information.

It is mentioned that during a conversation with journalists, the Belarusian president commented on Pashinyan's call for him to apologize to the Armenian people: 'Listen, this is ridiculous. He says let Lukashenko apologize. Well, I am ready to apologize right now. Forgive me, dear, but you are also a dirty traitor. We already had a dirty traitor like that, wearing a green coat,' Lukashenko allegedly stated.

These words attributed to Lukashenko have been disseminated by numerous Armenian websites. Notably, there is no reference in the articles to the original source from where this statement was supposedly taken.

CivilNet's fact-checking team reviewed official pages of the Belarusian president as well as both state and non-state Belarusian media but found no evidence of such a statement made by Lukashenko. Furthermore, Lukashenko has not held any meetings or press conferences with journalists in recent days.

Thus, the words attributed to Alexander Lukashenko in the media and social networks are indeed false.

On June 13, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced from the National Assembly podium that he would no longer visit Belarus as long as Alexander Lukashenko remains president. This declaration was prompted by Lukashenko's earlier statement that he had discussed the possibilities of achieving victory with Azerbaijani President regarding the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.

Following Pashinyan's statement, the Armenian ambassador to Belarus was summoned to Yerevan for consultations. Armenia and Belarus recalled their ambassadors for consultations. The spokesperson for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anatoly Glaz, noted that Belarus does not intend to worsen relations with Armenia.